Cosmic puzzles solved: astronomers discover fourth planets!
Cosmic puzzles solved: astronomers discover fourth planets!
In a fascinating cosmic event, astronomers have discovered a fourth so-called cotton candy planet with the help of the James Webb dijacking telescope (JWST), which revolves around the young star Kepler-51. This latest find makes the already complicated system around Kepler-51 even more puzzling, since the origin and nature of this light planet has so far hardly been explained. The team of scientists from Pennsylvania State University found that the planet Kepler-51d, when they examined it more closely, passed two hours earlier than predicted in front of his star. This unexpected deviation led to the discovery of Kepler-51E, the fourth member of the system, which may have influenced the movements of the other planets. According to Krone it is assumed that Kepler-51e needs about 264 days to complete a orbit around its star, and it even near a circular track comparable to that of Venus around our sun.
The puzzles of the cotton candy planet
cotton candy planets are remarkable celestial bodies that have an extremely low density and are comparable to Saturn in size and have only a few earth masses. Jessica Libby-Roberts, a co-author of the study, explains that these planets may consist of small cores and large gas sleeves made of hydrogen and helium. Her lightweight nature raises questions about the mechanisms that enable them to keep their gas covers because they should be strong enough to resist the influence of their mother star's radiation. These discoveries were also reported by t-online highlight.
The discovery of the fourth planet in the Kepler 51 system could throw more light on the previous ambiguities about the special type of planet that classify astronomers as a lift planet. The current models of planet formation do not seem to be submitted to explain this unique system, and the scientists hope that future observations, especially the atmospheres of these planets, will provide new findings. Another exciting element is the possibility that unknown planets could hide in this remarkable system. The puzzles around Kepler-51 show how little we really know about the diversity of the celestial bodies in the universe.
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Ort | Kepler-51, 2600 Lichtjahre entfernt, Universum |
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