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Space

Distant world breaks record for heaviest element on an exoplanet

The element samarium has been spotted in the atmosphere of a planet called MASCARA-4b, breaking the record for heaviest element ever detected in a world beyond our solar system

By Leah Crane

19 April 2023

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Samarium is the heaviest element to have been discovered on an exoplanet

Shutterstock/Bjoern Wylezich

An element spotted in an exoplanet is the heaviest element yet to be identified in a world beyond our solar system. Elements like this are expected to be both relatively rare and difficult to spot, but finding them is key to understanding how planets form and evolve over time.

Wei Wang at the National Astronomical Observatories of China and his colleagues found this heavy element, samarium, in a planet called MASCARA-4b, which is about 557 light years from Earth. MASCARA-4b is an ultra-hot Jupiter, which…

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