Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Jun 22, 2019 14:36:25 GMT 2
(.#207).- A forbidden planet discovered in ‘’the Neptunes desert’’ - NGTS-4B.
A forbidden planet discovered in ‘’the Neptunes desert’’ - NGTS-4B.
By Tristan Vey - Updated on the 31/05/2019 at 17:27
Artist's impression of the planet NGTS-4B. University, Warwick
An international team of astronomers has discovered a mini-Neptune in an area apparently incompatible with its existence.
It's a bit like discovering a square of lawn in the middle of the Sahara. Astronomers from the University of Warwick and the University of Geneva have found a planet three times larger than Earth and 20 times more massive orbiting very close to its star. This is called a mini-Neptune, in other words a gas giant of modest size. There is a priori infernal temperature, probably higher than 1000 ° C. It only takes a little more than a day to complete a revolution.
Curiously, it should not exist in this area that astronomers have dubbed "the desert Neptunes." In principle, there is indeed in this area that gaseous planets much more massive able to retain their thick atmosphere in their field of very intense gravity, or small rocky planets peeled from their atmosphere by the intense radiation of the star.
How to explain the presence of NGTS-4B, detected by the eponymous network (New Generation Transit Survey - NGTS)? Two hypotheses: it is either a neptunian planet that has just migrated to this region, or a larger planet that has not finished being rid of its gaseous envelope. But it is unlikely that it could survive long in this form. Researchers detail their discovery and hypotheses in an article in the June issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
In any case, it shows that the bestiary of exoplanets (more than 4000 discoveries to date) is even richer than imagined. And that we could continue to have surprises.
F I N .
A forbidden planet discovered in ‘’the Neptunes desert’’ - NGTS-4B.
By Tristan Vey - Updated on the 31/05/2019 at 17:27
Artist's impression of the planet NGTS-4B. University, Warwick
An international team of astronomers has discovered a mini-Neptune in an area apparently incompatible with its existence.
It's a bit like discovering a square of lawn in the middle of the Sahara. Astronomers from the University of Warwick and the University of Geneva have found a planet three times larger than Earth and 20 times more massive orbiting very close to its star. This is called a mini-Neptune, in other words a gas giant of modest size. There is a priori infernal temperature, probably higher than 1000 ° C. It only takes a little more than a day to complete a revolution.
Curiously, it should not exist in this area that astronomers have dubbed "the desert Neptunes." In principle, there is indeed in this area that gaseous planets much more massive able to retain their thick atmosphere in their field of very intense gravity, or small rocky planets peeled from their atmosphere by the intense radiation of the star.
How to explain the presence of NGTS-4B, detected by the eponymous network (New Generation Transit Survey - NGTS)? Two hypotheses: it is either a neptunian planet that has just migrated to this region, or a larger planet that has not finished being rid of its gaseous envelope. But it is unlikely that it could survive long in this form. Researchers detail their discovery and hypotheses in an article in the June issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
In any case, it shows that the bestiary of exoplanets (more than 4000 discoveries to date) is even richer than imagined. And that we could continue to have surprises.
F I N .
