Astronomers find biggest super-puff planets yet that are lighter than cotton candy
- On Wednesday, astronomers reported discovering two "super-puff" planets, TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c, in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. These Jupiter-sized worlds are lighter than cotton candy.
- Situated approximately 1,110 light-years away in the constellation Volans, TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c possess densities of just 0.022 and 0.027 ounces per cubic inch, respectively—far lighter than Jupiter's 0.76 ounces per cubic inch.
- Volunteers combing through NASA TESS data flagged the pair, which orbit their star in a rare 5:3 mean-motion resonance where the inner planet orbits five times for every three orbits of the outer planet.
- "Only a handful of these super-puffy planets are known, and it is even rarer to find two in the same system," said lead author George Dransfield of Oxford University. Their low densities offer unique insights into planetary evolution.
- Scientists plan to continue analyzing the system, potentially utilizing the James Webb Space Telescope to determine the chemical makeup and atmospheric conditions of these distant worlds.
143 Articles
143 Articles
Two Planets Lighter Than Candy Floss
Astronomers have found two of the lightest worlds ever discovered, a pair of giant planets so wispy that, gram for gram, they are less dense than candy floss. Each is roughly the size of Jupiter yet holds almost nothing inside and the two circle the same distant star as siblings, locked in a gravitational dance that sees them tug one another off schedule as they orbit. It was observations from the depths of the Antarctic winter, that let astrono…
Two ‘Super-Puff’ Planets Lighter Than Candy Candy Discovered by Researchers
Two ‘super-puff’ planets lighter than candy candy have been discovered by scientists—and they’re bigger than Jupiter. They are among the lowest-density giant planets ever detected, according to a new study. The two planets orbit a dwarf star located around 1,110 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Volans. Although both planets—named TOI-791b and […] The post Two ‘Super-Puff’ Planets Lighter Than Candy Candy Discovered by Rese…
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op-online.deMean density of about 0.04 grams per cubic centimeter. Different explanations for the phenomenon.
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