Astronomers Stunned by Rocky Planet in the Wrong Place

This exoplanet system formed backwards, and nobody can explain why

In a conventional system like our own, rocky planets such as Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars orbit closest to the host star. Farther out, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn occupy the outer regions. Uranus and Neptune are classified as ice giants because they are composed largely of heavier volatile...Read Entire Article

Astronomers Stunned by Rocky Planet in the Wrong Place

Scientists have identified a rocky outer planet in a system where a gas giant was expected. The discovery challenges traditional models and supports the idea that planets may form one by one in changing environments. When scientists survey planetary systems across the Milky Way, they tend to see a familiar arrangement. Small, rocky worlds circle [...]

Study Reveals A Planetary System With An Unexpected Rocky Planet In Its Outer Region - Astrobiology

An international scientific team, led by the University of Warwick and involving the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, has used the European Space Agency’s Cheops satellite to discover that the planetary system around the star LHS 1903 challenges current planet formation theories with the unusual order of its planets. Surprisingly, the most distant outer planet […] The post Study Reveals A Planetary System With An Unexpected Rocky Planet…