Scientists have found a gasoline big planet with a density much like a marshmallow. (Artwork Idea Group) (NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI))
[The Epoch Times, 16 Cèitean, 2024](Full report by Epoch Instances reporter Li Yan) Astronomers have found a planet greater than Jupiter, however surprisingly, it is as fluffy and light-weight as marshmallows.
A global staff of researchers mentioned on Tuesday (Could 14) that the exoplanet has a really low density for its measurement. And the gasoline giants in our photo voltaic system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—are a lot denser.
The extrasolar planet (exoplanet), named WASP-193 b, is about 1.5 occasions wider than Jupiter, however has a mass of barely greater than a tenth of the gasoline giants of the photo voltaic system.
“The planet is essentially extraordinarily fluid” as a result of it’s largely composed of sunshine gases quite than solids, lead creator Khalid Barkaoui of MIT mentioned in an announcement.
Some consultants imagine that WASP-193b is so mild that it could possibly float on water.
The MIT staff found WASP-193 b utilizing the Broad-Angle Planet Survey (WASP) system, which consists of two robotic observatories and an array of telescopes. One is within the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite is within the Southern Hemisphere.
Workforce co-leader Francisco Pozuelos, a senior researcher on the Andalucia Astrophysics Institute, mentioned the density of WASP-193b was so low that it was “exhausting to imagine at first”.
“We can not clarify how this planet was shaped based mostly on classical evolutionary fashions. “
Scientists say outliers like WASP-193b are perfect for finding out the formation and evolution of unconventional planets. The planet was confirmed final 12 months, and extra observations are wanted earlier than astronomers can reply all of the questions raised by it being “fluid”.
In line with the research, printed in Nature Astronomy, it’s believed that the planet is made up primarily of hydrogen and helium.
“Present observations can not decide the precise composition of the ambiance,” mentioned Renyu Hu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead creator of the research.
“The ambiance could also be wealthy in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, however it could additionally include different gases comparable to water vapor and sulfur dioxide,” he mentioned.
The planet is about 1,200 light-years away (1 light-year is 5.8 trillion miles) and orbits a star much like our solar.
Researchers say that based mostly on measurement and mass, it’s the second lightest exoplanet ever found, with solely the Neptune-like Kepler 51 d being lighter than WASP-193 b.
Editor-in-Chief: Lin Yan #
