By measuring a very young Jupiter-sized exoplanet called HD-114082b, the scientists found that its properties do not match either of the two popular models for giant planet formation.
According to scientists, the newly discovered exoplanet is too heavy for its age. Notably, the density of this object is twice the density of the Earth.
Research published in the journal Astronomy and astrophysics.
“Compared to currently accepted models, the density of HD-114082b is about 2-3 times that of a young gas giant just 15 million years old,” explains astrophysicist Olga Zakhozhay of the Max Planck Astronomical Institute in Germany.
This exoplanet, orbiting the star HD-114082 at a distance of about 300 light-years, has been the subject of an intense data collection campaign. At just 15 million years old, HD-114082b is one of the youngest exoplanets ever found, and understanding its properties could provide clues about how planets form, a process that is not fully understood.
For nearly 4 years, scientists have been collecting observations of the radial velocity of HD-114082. Scientists using the combined transit and radial velocity data determined that HD-114082b has the same radius as Jupiter, but 8 times Jupiter’s mass. This means that the exoplanet’s density is about twice the density of Earth and almost 10 times the density of Jupiter.
The size and mass of this juvenile exoplanet indicate that it is unlikely to be a very large rocky planet; the upper limit for them is about 3 Earth radii and 25 Earth masses. Even rocky exoplanets have a very small range of densities. Above this range, the body becomes denser and the planet’s gravity begins to retain a significant atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
HD-114082b significantly exceeds these parameters, which means that it is a gas giant. But astronomers simply don’t know how it happened.
“We think that giant planets can form in two possible ways. Both occur within a protoplanetary disk of gas and dust distributed around a central young star,” says MPIA astronomer Ralph Launhardt.
The exoplanet is one of only three known planets younger than 30 million years for which astronomers have obtained radius and mass measurements, the scientists say. So far, all three appear to be inconsistent with the disk instability model.
“While more similar planets are needed to confirm this trend, we think theorists should start reevaluating their calculations. It’s amazing how the results of our observations feed back into the theory of planet formation. They help improve our knowledge of how these giant planets grow and tell us where the gaps in our understanding are,” says Zakhozhay.
said the cursor Scientists have discovered the heaviest metal in alien atmospheres. In the wider universe, there are some truly strange worlds that make the planets of our solar system seem almost mundane by comparison. Now, in two of the toughest worlds ever seen in the Milky Way, astronomers have discovered the heavier metal.
Moreover, Astronomers reveal when a pair of supermassive black holes might collide. The strange behavior of a galaxy a billion light years away suggests that one of the most anticipated events in modern astronomy may be taking place there.
Our editors wrote it scientists said whether the Earth can leave our solar system.
Recall this scientists have found a new way to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
