Researchers discover “super cute” planet with density similar to cotton candy

Researchers have discovered a huge planet 1,200 light-years from Earth with a density comparable to that of cotton candy, scientists said Monday.

WASP-193b is an exoplanet, meaning it is located outside our solar system, according to a to study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy. It is 50% larger than Jupiter – the largest planet in our solar system – but seven times less massive due to its extraordinarily low density.

“The planet is so light that it is difficult to think of an analogous, solid-state material,” said Julien de Wit, an MIT professor and co-author of the study, in a press release. “The reason it’s close to cotton candy is because they’re both practically air. The planet is basically super cute.”

The extremely low density makes WASP-193b an anomaly among the more than 5,000 exoplanets scientists have discovered so far, researchers said. The only planet scientists have discovered that is less dense thanks to WASP-193b is Kepler-51da Neptune-like planet that was discovered a decade ago.

Researchers believe that WASP-193b, which orbits a Sun-like star every 6.25 days, is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. They said the gases likely form an extremely inflated atmosphere, but said it is not known how a planet is able to inflate so much.

“We don’t know where to place this planet in all the formation theories we have at the moment, because it is an exception to all of them,” said Francisco Pozuelos, study author and astronomer at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, in a statement. . “We cannot explain how this planet was formed.”

The planet is a “cosmic mystery,” said Khalid Barkaoui, lead author of the study. Barkaoui hopes to solve this mystery by measuring atmospheric properties using the James Webb Space Telescope, he said.

Scientists use the term “Super-Puffs” to refer to the unique class of exoplanets with a density similar to that of cotton candy. NASA says there is nothing like it in our solar system.

Researchers in 2019 announced the discovery of WASP-107b, another bloated exoplanet. WASP-107b is about the same size as Jupiter, but only about one-tenth the mass.

“CBS Evening News” headlines for Monday, May 13, 2024

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