Exoplanet 556 Light Years Away Holds Heaviest Element Samarium

Astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered the heaviest element, samarium (Sm), on an exoplanet called MASCARA-4 b, located 556 light years away from Earth. The team used the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations (ESPRESSO) to detect several heavier elements in the planet's atmosphere, including rubidium (Rb) and ions of titanium (Ti+) and barium (Ba+). This is the first time Rb and Sm have been discovered in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet, whereas Ti+ and Ba+ have previously been found in extrasolar planets.