The planet, named WASP-76b, is around the mass of Jupiter, but orbits its star 12 times closer than Mercury is to the sun. Being so close, its atmosphere its heated to a scorching 2,000- degrees Celsius, which makes it puff up to a large size that’s six times the volume of Jupiter. These high temperatures also give astronomers the opportunity to observe elements that would normally be hard to identify in the atmosphere of a gas giant. #space #astronomy #noirlab #science