We are talking about a planet from outside the solar system that passes in front of its star and slightly reduces its light. This gives clues for teams of researchers from around the world to search for. Astronomers have just discovered the youngest, ie less than 3 million years old.
An important scientific discovery
Scientists have discovered a planet orbiting a star that formed about 3 million years ago. Because it goes in front of the star from Earth’s point of view, it allows you to watch how its light filters through its atmosphere. This is a unique discovery because the planet orbits a star that is almost three times younger than other stars known as transiting planets. They are thought to form after stars, so this planet is likely even younger.
As the scientific journal Nature, which published the latest research, writes, a team of scientists has identified several planets moving around stars that are between 10 and 40 million years old. Researchers believe that there are a number of factors that could explain the lack of detection of very young planets, including the presence of disks around young stars made up mostly of gas and dust . Parts of these discs make it difficult to see transiting planets. However, some of these discs are broken, allowing the discovery of new planets, as happened in IRAS 04125+2902 b.
The rest of the article is below the video
The new exoplanet is almost as big as Jupiter
The planet has a radius of four percent. smaller than Jupiter, making it 10.7 times wider than Earth. Despite its size, the density is much lower, reaching only 30%. The mass of Jupiter. Over time, it will likely shrink to a mass similar to Saturn or even Neptune.
The new planet, moving in just 8.83 days, is already getting a lot of heat, which will increase as the star grows. The planet may also be hot due to gravitational collapse, which would be consistent with previous observations of young planets. The planetary system IRAS 04125+2902 b is located about 521 light-years away, which, being closer than most planets discovered, creates additional research opportunities.
Finding Earth-like atmospheres outside the solar system is a popular topic in exoplanet research, but observing young planets, even those that are not Earth-like, can provide valuable information about the process of planet formation. In this context, the discovery of the planet IRAS 04125+2902 b represents a major advance. We know more about the star around which the new exoplanet orbits, it has a mass of 70%. the mass of the Sun, only 3.3 million years old and coming from the Taurus Molecular Cloud.
Amanda Grzmiel, journalist of Wirtualna Polska
2024-11-21 23:55:00
#Scientists #discovered #planet #times #larger #Earth