By Aazam
One planet rains liquid gems, and the other experiences a flurry of iron. And now another surprise has surfaced in their environment
On Thursday, astronomers working with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope announced a startling discovery
The two exoplanets, both of which are already considered highly exotic, look even more strange than we thought
Not only do these worlds display strange sci-fi features – one is likely to contain a cloud of metal
One from which the liquid gems descend, and the other rains iron instead of water - but they also have barium in their atmosphere
This marks the heaviest element ever found in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, according to the team's new study
They are commonly combined with other elements to make things like drilling fluid for oil wells, glass making equipment and paint
In fact, the name "barium" is derived from the Greek word berries, which means - you guessed it - heavy
So identifying a medium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, where lighter elements such as oxygen, carbon and hydrogen reside, is fascinating