They found a “super fluffy” exoplanet with a light density similar to cotton candy.

An international team has discovered an unusually light planet orbiting a distant Milky Way star that is 50% larger than Jupiter but has 25 times the density of the gas giant, suggesting it is as ethereal as cotton candy.

The discovery by this team, led by the Spanish Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics (IAA-CSIC), published in the journal Nature Astronomy, challenges the understanding of this phenomenon. formation of giant and ultra-light planets.

Named WASP-193b, it is the second lightest planet discovered to date, second only to Kepler 51d, which is similar in size to Neptune, IAA-CSIC researcher Francisco J. Pozuelos explained in a statement.

The newly discovered planet’s size, combined with its extremely low density, makes WASP-193b “a true rarity among the more than five thousand exoplanets discovered to date.”

According to Julien de Wit, study co-author and assistant professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT, this is “an extreme case of a class of planets called ‘inflated’ Jupiters.” or “fluffy”.

They have known each other for 15 years, but still “a real mystery”according to the researcher.

SEE ALSO:

Read more

Pozuelos, an astronomer at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics (southern Spain), added that this planet challenges all modern theories of planet formation: “We cannot explain how this planet formed. “We need detailed observations of its atmosphere to understand its evolution.”

The new planet was discovered by WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets), an international collaboration that jointly operates two robotic observatories in both hemispheres. Each observatory uses an array of wide-angle cameras to measure the brightness of thousands of individual stars in the sky.

Based on observations taken between 2006 and 2008 and again between 2011 and 2012, WAPS-South detected a periodic dimming of the brightness of WASP-193, a Sun-like star located about 1,200 light-years from Earth.

Analysis of these periodic transits corresponded to the passage of a giant “super Jupiter” there are stars ahead every 6.25 days.

SEE ALSO:

Read more

To calculate the planet’s mass, as well as its density and possible composition, the team used the radial velocity method, a method that analyzes small variations in the motion of a star due to the gravitational pull of a planet orbiting it.

These changes are reflected in shifts in the wavelength of the star’s spectrum: how much the more massive the planetthe greater the shift observed in the star’s spectrum.

In the case of WASP-193b, the surprise was that virtually no significant changes in the star’s radial velocity were detected. “Despite its enormous size, this planet is so light that it barely exerts a noticeable gravitational pull on its star,” Pozuelos explained.

Collecting the data necessary to obtain the mass of the new planet took almost four years.

SEE ALSO:

Read more

like cotton candy

Calculations confirm that WASP-193b has a mass about 0.14 times Jupiter and a density of 0.059 grams per cubic inch, significantly lower than Jupiter and Earth, but close to 0.05 grams per cubic inch of cotton candy.

The planet is so light that it is difficult to imagine similar material in a solid state,” said Julien De Wit, adding that the reason it resembles cotton candy is because they are both practically air.

“The planet is basically very spongy.”

According to the authors, WASP-193b may have an atmosphere composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, several tens of thousands of miles longer than Jupiter’s atmosphere. Currently no planetary formation model can explain the existence of a planet with an atmosphere of this size.

Pozuelos noted that of the few known ultra-light planets, this is the best candidate for studying with the James Webb Space Telescope and understanding “How can a planet as light as cotton candy form?”.

recommended

(According to EFE)

CONNECTED:

THEY DISCOVER A THIRD POSSIBLE PLANET LIKE EARTH.

Read more

THERE ARE HABITABLE PLANETS OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Read more