Exoplanet blacker than coal DR EMILY BALDWIN Posted: 11 August
2011 A Jupiter-sized planet discovered in 2006 by the Trans-
Atlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES) and observed again by the
Kepler spacecraft has a curious property: it reflects less than
one percent of the sunlight falling on it, making it blacker
than coal or any other planet or moon in the Solar System. “It's
not clear what is responsible for making this planet so
extraordinarily dark,” says astronomer David Spiegel of
Princeton University. “However, it’s not completely pitch black.
It’s so hot that it emits a faint red glow, much like a burning
ember or the coils on an electric stove.” TrES-2b orbits the
star GSC 03549-02811, which is located about 750 light-years
away in the direction of the constellation Draco. The planet
reflects less than one percent of the sunlight falling onto it.
Image: David A. Aguilar (CfA). Orbiting its host star at a
distance of just five million kilometres, tidally locked TrES-2b
is heated to more than 1,000 degrees Cel