An international team of researchers led by the University of Hawaii at Manoa has discovered one of the smallest planets ever observed. The results were published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, estimates that the planet is “several times larger” than Jupiter.
The new planet was discovered in a “star nursery” and formed several million years ago – around the same time that Hawaii’s main islands emerged from the sea. The researchers, called 2M0437b, first discovered a planet orbiting a distant baby star in 2018.
Because 2M0437b is so small, it is still hot from the energy released during its formation – say scientists at see press The temperature is similar to “lava from the Kīlauea volcano.”
–
–
The Keck Observatory on Maunakea was used to track the star orbiting 2M0437b to confirm that it was actually a planet for that star and not a distant object. Researchers took three years to determine since the star moves very slowly across the sky.
2M0437b and its host star are in the cloud of Taurus, the planet’s famous “nursery,” but because the planet has a much wider orbit than many other orbits in its solar system – it’s about 100 times farther from the sun than Earth. From the sun – it would be difficult to observe without the new adaptive optics technology.
The discovery of this planet is of great interest to astronomers because it is easy to see and very young, meaning that scientists will be able to observe it for years and learn more about how the planets, including Earth, age.
“This coincidental discovery adds to the elite list of planets that we can observe directly with our telescopes,” said lead author and UH Mānoa professor Eric Gaidos.
Leaked Facebook documents show staff frustration over response to January 6 attacks
Severe storms are expected in the fall in California and the Pacific Northwest
Military Veterans Quit Senator Kirsten Senema’s Advisory Council in Protest
–
–
“Creator. Award winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introverts.”
—-
–
