Exoplanets – worlds orbiting distant suns – are very, very far away. Astronomers are learning what some might look like, and what’s in their atmospheres. Soon – for the first time – a new telescope will be able to “see inside” some exoplanets. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nenufar-radio-telescope-magnetic-fields-hot-jupiter-exoplanets…
Tag: gas giants
‘Impossible’ exoplanet and an alternate planet-formation theory
The discovery of exoplanet GJ 3512b – a planet “too big for its star” – adds fuel to the competition between 2 theoretical models of how planets form. It suggests many more Jupiter-like planets are waiting to be found, orbiting nearby sunlike stars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/theories-planet-formation-gj-3512b-favors-disk-instability…
Exoplanet orbits its star every 18 hours
In the past decade, thousands of planets have been discovered beyond our solar system. These planets have provided astronomers with the opportunity to study planetary systems that defy our preconcieved notions. This includes particularly massive gas giants that are many times the size of Jupiter (aka “super-Jupiters”). And then there are those that orbit particularly close to their suns, otherwise known…