May 29, 2019
Astronomers Find Distant “Forbidden Planet” In “Neptunian Desert”
Posted by Michael Lance in category: space
And more Earth-like planets could be found hiding in nearby star systems.
An international team of astronomers says it’s discovered a rogue exoplanet three times the size of Earth — in an orbit that was thought to be impossible, meaning more Earth-like planets could be found hiding in nearby star systems.
No exoplanets with gas atmospheres were previously thought be able to orbit this close to a star — a region known as the “Neptunian Desert” — as the gas would evaporate and leave just a rocky core. Until, that is, this team located NGTS-4b, which they’re calling a “forbidden planet.”
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