In a breakthrough, scientists have developed a new method to estimate the magnetic field of a distant exoplanet.
An exoplanet is a planet that is located outside our solar system and orbits a different star.
For the first time, they have been able to estimate the value of the magnetic moment and the shape of the magnetosphere of the exoplanet called HD 209458b (Osiris).
The scientists have also managed to estimate the value of the magnetic moment of the planet.
As it was the first planet where the atmosphere was detected, for scientists, it has become a model object for the development of their hypotheses.
"We modelled the formation of the cloud of hot hydrogen around the planet and showed that only one configuration, which corresponds to specific values of the magnetic moment and the parameters of the stellar wind, allowed us to reproduce the observations," explained Kristina Kislyakova from Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences.
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At first, the scientists studied the absorption of the star radiation by the atmosphere of the planet.
Then they were able to estimate the shape of the gas cloud surrounding the exoplanet, and based on these results, the size and the configuration of the magnetosphere.
The study was published in the journal Science.