BBC Focus Magazine

[Shadowwolf]

The planet Tau Bootis b [1] was one of the first exoplanets to be discovered back in 1996, and it is still one of the closest exoplanets known. Although its parent star is easily visible with the naked eye, the planet itself certainly is not, and up to now it could only be detected by its gravitational effects on the star. Tau Bootis b is a large "hot Jupiter" planet orbiting very close to its parent star.

Like most exoplanets, this planet does not transit the disc of its star (like the recent transit of Venus). Up to now such transits were essential to allow the study of hot Jupiter atmospheres: when a planet passes in front of its star it imprints the properties of the atmosphere onto the starlight. As no starlight shines through Tau Bootis b's atmosphere towards us, this means the planet's atmosphere could not be studied before.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120627132051.htm