Two cotton-candy planets discovered 1,110 light-years away.
Discovery
A team of astronomers led by George Dransfield of the University of Oxford has detected two exoplanets orbiting a star 1,110 light-years away in the constellation Volans. The planets are Jupiter-sized but have unusually low densities, making them less dense than cotton candy.
Characteristics
- The planets are described as "super-puffs" — large planets with very low density.
- Their density is comparable to shaving foam.
- They are likely composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.
- Follow-up observations with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are planned to confirm their chemical makeup.
- Their appearance is predicted to be white or blue, depending on cloud cover.
Detection and Study
The planets were detected by NASA's TESS satellite over the past decade. Ground-based telescopes were used to study their orbits and calculate their density. Jupiter is about 35 times denser than these planets.
Context
Super-puffs are considered rare in the cosmos. Of the nearly 6,300 confirmed exoplanets, fewer than 40 are classified as super-puffs. The research was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.