(NLDO) - On the mysterious planet TIC 241249530b, the climate is sometimes like summer on Earth, and sometimes it turns into "hell" that melts even titanium.
A research team led by Dr. Arvind Gupta from the NSF National Infrared Optical Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab - USA) examined an exoplanet named TIC 241249530b.
NASA's TESS satellite found it in 2020, but scientists have only now discovered it is very different from other known exoplanets.
Strange planet TIC 241249530b - Graphic image: NOIRLab
According to Sci-News, spectral analysis has confirmed that TIC 241249530b is about 5 times more massive than Jupiter and belongs to the "hot Jupiter" type, which are gas giant planets that are very close to their parent star and therefore hot.
This exoplanet has an orbital eccentricity of 0.94, which is close to the maximum on the 0-1 scale of eccentricity.
The higher the eccentricity, the more elongated the planet's elliptical orbit around its parent star becomes.
For comparison, Earth's eccentricity is only 0.02, while the Solar System's super-eccentric dwarf planet Pluto has an eccentricity of 0.25.
If TIC 241249530b were part of the Solar System, then at perihelion it would be only 1/10th the Sun-Mercury distance from the Sun. At aphelion, the distance would be equivalent to the Sun-Earth distance.
This eccentricity also causes the climate on this hot Jupiter to change dramatically.
During the "season" when the planet is furthest from its parent star, it will have hot weather similar to summer on Earth. But during the phase closest to its parent star, it will be a hell where even titanium would melt.
Adding to the unusual nature of the exoplanet's orbit, the team also found that it rotates in the opposite direction to that of its parent star.
That's not common on exoplanets, and no planet in the Solar System rotates backwards like that.
The exoplanet's unique orbital characteristics also hint at its future trajectory.
It is expected to soon lose this extreme eccentricity, as tidal forces acting on the planet will drain the energy from its orbit and cause it to gradually shrink and round.
According to the authors, in fact, in the universe, there may have been many other hot Jupiters that were also eccentric, but their orbits were gradually rounded, becoming a perfect hot Jupiter orbiting close to its parent star.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/xuat-hien-hanh-tinh-moi-quay-nguoc-bien-hoa-dang-so-196240719110822317.htm
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