Science For Sleep | TrES-2b — The Planet Darker Than Space Itself

Most planets reflect at least a little starlight. Yet TrES-2b — the planet darker than space itself challenges that expectation in a remarkable way. In this episode, we journey to a distant world that reflects less than one percent of the light that reaches it. Orbiting close to its star, TrES-2b is heated to extreme temperatures, yet its atmosphere absorbs so much light that it appears almost completely black. If you could see it up close, it might glow faintly red from its own heat while remaining darker than charcoal against the surrounding darkness. It is one of the least reflective worlds ever discovered. Let this gentle exploration of TrES-2b, the planet darker than space itself settle softly into your thoughts. Breathe slowly. Imagine a world so dark that it almost disappears into the night. And rest in the stillness of a universe where even planets can hide in the shadows of their own existence. Sources: NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program — https://exoplanets.nasa.gov NASA Kepler Mission Archive — https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ke... ESA Exoplanets & Astronomy — https://www.esa.int/Science_Explorati... The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia — https://exoplanet.eu Kipping & Spiegel (2011), "The Albedo of the Exoplanet TrES-2b" — https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...