Buzz
Located 580 light-years away from Earth, a planet larger than Jupiter, soft as marshmallow candies, basks in the rosy glow emitted by a red dwarf star.
Leading the investigation, planetary astronomer Shubham Kanodia from the Earth and Planets Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC - USA, uncovered the 'sweet' planet named TOI-3757b from NASA's vast TESS satellite data repository.
As reported by Space, the 'parent' of this planet is the red dwarf star TOI-3757, situated 580 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Andromeda. This renders TOI-3757b truly unique.
Dr. Kanodia explains that giant planets are extremely rare around red dwarf stars, with a few, if any, observed ones being very distant from their parent stars. This marks one of the first close-in gas giants observed around this type of star, despite red dwarfs being the most abundant star type in the Milky Way galaxy, comprising up to 73%.
The reason behind this rarity lies in the powerful radiation emitted by red dwarfs, capable of stripping away the atmospheres of any nearby gas giants. Despite all odds, TOI-3757 perseveres, albeit with its distinct characteristics.
According to Science Alert, it's larger than Jupiter - the largest planet in the Solar System - by a tad but remarkably light, weighing only about 85 times that of Earth. For comparison, Jupiter weighs 318 times that of Earth.
This planet's density is 0.27 grams per cubic centimeter. It's an incredibly fluffy planet - so soft that it's unclear how it could form so close to its star: it only takes 3.43 days to complete one orbit around its parent star.
Dr. Kanodia and colleagues speculate that two factors may contribute to its candy-like lightness.
Firstly, a massive gas envelope forms with a rocky core, around which gas accumulates to create a thick, expansive atmosphere. Because this red dwarf contains fewer heavy elements compared to other red dwarfs, the rocky core forms a bit slower, delaying the gas accumulation process and affecting the world's density.
Secondly, the orbit appears slightly elongated, meaning its distance from the star fluctuates. Perhaps as it draws nearer, the atmosphere heats up and expands.
The research team hopes to find many more marshmallow worlds like this out there, aiding in understanding how they form and persist in a place where they shouldn't exist.
Source: The Astronomical Journal
