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Astronomers have discovered a unique “ super-puff ” planet, as large as Jupiter, but 10 times lighter.
The planet, called WASP-107b, is considered one of the least dense exoplanets ever to be discovered, earning it the nickname “ super puff ” or “ cotton candy ”.
The researchers say the findings have “ big implications ” for what we understand about the formation and growth of giant planets.
WASP-107b is very close to its star, WASP-107, with estimates suggesting that the planet is more than 16 times at its star than the Earth is at the Sun.
WASP-107b is located approximately 212 light years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.
Estimates suggest that the planet is 16 times closer to its star, WASP-107, than Earth is to the Sun.
From observations obtained by the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, researchers at the University of Montreal were able to determine the size and density of the planet.
Their results suggest that WASP-107b is roughly the same size as Jupiter, but is about 10 times lighter.
This extremely low density indicates that the planet must have a solid core no more than four times the mass of Earth, according to the researchers.
This suggests that over 85% of its mass resides in the thick layer of gas that surrounds its core.
Caroline Piaulet, doctoral student at the University of Montreal and lead author of the study, said: “We had a lot of questions about WASP-107b. How could such a low density planet form?
And how did he keep his huge layer of gas from escaping, especially given the planet’s proximity to its star?
“This motivated us to do a thorough analysis to determine its training history.
Most gas giant planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, have a solid core that is at least 10 times the size of Earth.
Estimates suggest the planet is roughly the same size as Jupiter, but about 10 times lighter.
However, WASP-107b has a much less massive core, leading researchers to wonder how the planet ever crossed the critical threshold needed to build and maintain its gaseous envelope.
Professor Eve Lee, a world-renowned expert on super-puff planets, has several theories.
“For WASP-107b, the most plausible scenario is that the planet formed far from the star, where the gas in the disk is cold enough that gas accretion can occur very quickly,” he said. she declared.
“The planet was then able to migrate to its current position, either through interactions with the disk or with other planets in the system.
Surprisingly, previous data from NASA’s Hubble spacecraft suggests that WASP-107b contains very little methane.
Ms Piaulet said: “It’s strange because for this type of planet methane should be abundant. We are now reanalyzing the Hubble observations with the new mass of the planet to see how this will affect the results and to examine what mechanisms might account for the destruction of methane.
WASP-107b is roughly the same size as Jupiter (pictured), but is 10 times lighter than the gas giant
The observations also revealed that WASP-107b is not the only one to orbit the star WASP-107 – it is joined by another planet, called WASP-107c.
WASP-107c has a mass of about one-third that of Jupiter, and is much further from its central star than WASP-107b, taking three years to complete an orbit, compared to just 5.7 days.
Interestingly, the eccentricity of this second planet is high, which means that its trajectory is more oval than circular.
Ms Piaulet explained: “The WASP-107c has, in some ways, retained the memory of what happened in its system.
“Its great eccentricity hints at a rather chaotic past, with interactions between the planets which could have led to important displacements, like that suspected for WASP-107b.
The team hopes the findings will shed light on the different mechanisms by which planets are formed across the universe.
Ms Piaulet added: “Exoplanets like WASP-107b which have no analog in our solar system allow us to better understand the mechanisms of formation of planets in general and the resulting variety of exoplanets. This motivates us to study them in detail.
Scientists study the atmosphere of distant exoplanets using huge space satellites like Hubble
Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have different conditions than anything we see in our atmosphere.
To understand these new worlds and what they are made of, scientists need to be able to detect what their atmospheres are.
They often do this using a telescope similar to Nasa’s Hubble Telescope.
These huge satellites sweep the sky and lock onto exoplanets that NASA thinks are interesting.
Here, on-board sensors perform different forms of analysis.
One of the most important and useful is absorption spectroscopy.
This form of analysis measures the light that comes out of a planet’s atmosphere.
Each gas absorbs a slightly different wavelength of light, and when this happens, a black line appears over a full spectrum.
These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, which indicates its presence on the planet.
They are often referred to as the Fraunhofer lines after the name of the German astronomer and physicist who first discovered them in 1814.
By combining all of the different wavelengths of lights, scientists can determine all of the chemicals that make up a planet’s atmosphere.
The key is that what is missing provides the clues to find out what is present.
It is vitally important that this be done by space telescopes, as the Earth’s atmosphere would then interfere.
Absorbing chemicals into our atmosphere would distort the sample, which is why it’s important to study light before it has a chance to reach Earth.
This is often used to search for helium, sodium, and even oxygen in foreign atmospheres.
This diagram shows how light passing from a star and through the atmosphere of an exoplanet produces Fraunhofer lines indicating the presence of key compounds such as sodium or helium.
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