Astronomers recently discovered a strange exoplanet identified as TOI-4603bwhat’s wrong with it the same size as Jupiter, but 13 times its massmaking it one of the heaviest planets ever discovered, cwith a density greater than that of lead.
In an article published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, cited in Slash Gearthe authors describe their discovery of the exoplanet using el NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). They looked at TESS data and added data from other instruments at the Palomar Observatories in California.
By observing how the light from the planet’s host star diminished in brightness as the planet passed in front of it, called the transit method, could determine the size of the planet. Then, by looking at how the light from the star shifted due to the Doppler effect, they were able to calculate the mass of the planet.
By combining these different data about the planet, the researchers were able to see that it was incredibly dense: “It is one of the most massive and dense transiting giant planets known to date.”.
Where is TOI-4603b located?
the exoplanet It is 730 light-years away and orbits a star called TOI-4603.. This planet orbits very close to its star, with a year there of just seven days.
The authors suggest that the planet could have formed farther from its star but migrated closer over time, because it has an oval-shaped orbit. Studying the orbit and the other bodies in the system could help us learn how such a dense planet formed.
The discovery of such a massive exoplanet is particularly interesting because helps define what the upper limits of a planet may be in terms of size and mass.