For the first time since exoplanets were discovered around 20 years ago, X-ray observations have found an exoplanet passing in front of its parent star.
The alignment took place in the star system HD 189733, which is located 63 light-years away from our planet.
As the planet transited from its star, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM Newton Observatory observed "a dip in X-ray intensity" according to the Science Recorder.
Katja Poppenhaeger from Harvard led the study, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal in August. Ponnenhaeger said "thousands" of planets have been found in optical light, but being able to look at one in X-rays provided new information about "its properties."
The planet, known as HD 189733B, is around the same size as Jupiter, but is in very close orbit around its star.
During the planet's transits, the spacecraft was able to observe a decrease in light. X-ray light reportedly decreased three times more than optical light did according to the Science Recorder.
"The X-ray data suggest there are extended layers of the planet's atmosphere that are transparent to optical light but opaque to X-rays," said Jurgen Schmitt of Germany in a NASA press release.
The X-ray observation also showed a second star in the star system that was older than the main star by 3 to 3.5 billion years.
Earlier this month, NASA revealed that HD 189733B is a "true blue planet."
"We saw the light becoming less bright in the blue but not in the green or red. Light was missing in the blue but not in the red when it was hidden," said Frederic Pont of the University of Exeter in a press statement. "This means that the object that disappeared was blue."
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