Astronomers have discovered a new planet Super-Earth almost as old as the universe itself, but despite what its name might suggest, the words “Super Earth” only speak of the size of the exoplanet because this new planet Doesn’t have many similarities to Earth This new Super Earth is called TOI-561b and is 50% larger than Earth, according to UC Riverside News. However, it orbits its star in less than half a day, despite its size much larger than Earth, which orbits its star, the Sun, every 365 days. TOI-561b is, all things considered, quite different from Earth, but the reason it is called Super Earth is almost exclusively because of its size.
“Super-Earths – a class of planets unlike any in our solar system – are more massive than Earth but lighter than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus, and can be made of gas, rocks, or water. ‘a combination of the two,’ according to NASA. official definition of a Super Earth. “They are between twice the size of Earth and up to 10 times its mass. Super-Earth is a reference only to the size of an exoplanet – larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune – but does not suggest not that they are necessarily similar to our home planet. ” UC Riverside planetary astrophysicist Stephen Kane has said that for every day we spend on Earth, TOI-561b circles its star twice. The reason for this rapid orbit is due to the heat created by the planet’s proximity to the star on which it orbits. The temperature of the TOI-561b is above 2000 degrees Kelvin, which is obviously too hot for life as we know it on the planet. The other reason for the fast orbit is due to the density of the planet, which is roughly the same as that of Earth.
“It’s surprising because you expect the density to be higher,” Kane said. “This is consistent with the idea that the planet is extremely old.”The older a planet, the less dense it is generally and that’s because the materials that make a planet dense just weren’t as abundant as you go back in time. The materials that eventually form dense planets are heavy elements that are produced by fusion reactions in stars as they age, according to UC Riverside News. When the stars explode, the elements are scattered outward and these elements form new stars and new planets.
Because TOI-561b is not as dense as expected, astronomers who discovered Super Earth believe it to be as old as the universe itself at that time, the heavy elements to create a denser planet would not have been so readily available as fewer stars were exploding as they weren’t as old.
For more science, read how the Earth is spinning faster than it has in 50 years, then check out this story about the rusting of the moon. Find out how a space object that passed through Earth was probably of extraterrestrial origin afterwards, then read this story about how researchers are trying to make Mars green.
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance writer and guide for the IGN. You can follow it on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
