‘Curve Close’: Astronomers Spot ‘Eccentric’ Planet With Extremely Rare Orbit | Science

Scientists this week revealed the discovery of an “eccentric” planet with an extremely rare orbit, and it is Earth. Involuntary spasm 241249530 b, It is located 998 light years from Earth. (See artistic representation above.)

This unprecedented discovery is the result of observations made by astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in the United States.

According to researchers, this exoplanet (Exoplanet) orbiting a star in a very long elliptical path, Which looks more like a choice than a circle.

Moreover, it moves around the star in the opposite direction to its rotation, something like very curious Because this property is not common in many other exoplanets, not even in our solar system.

We noticed that this huge planet is making steep curve “During a close pass of its star,” Suvrath Mahadevan, a Penn State astronomy professor and study author, said in a statement.

These planets are very transiting. eccentric “They are incredibly rare, and it’s really amazing that we were able to discover the most unusual one,” he added.

With such an extreme orbit, temperatures on TIC 241249530 vary greatly. The researchers suggest, for example, that they range from those seen on a typical summer day to about 1725 degrees Celsius, Heat enough to melt titanium.

Currently, the planet takes about 167 days to complete an orbit around its star. But scientists expect that from now on 1 billion yearsIt will migrate to a closer, more circular orbit, making a complete orbit in just a few days.

At this point, the planet will have fully evolved into what scientists call a planet. “Hot Jupiter”a class of gas giant exoplanets.

Therefore, understanding how TIC 241249530 behaves will help scientists study the formation and evolution of these planets.

“This system highlights how incredibly diverse exoplanets are,” added Sarah Milholland, an assistant professor of physics at MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “They are other mysterious worlds that could have wild orbits that tell the story of how they got there and where they’re going. This planet isn’t done yet.”