A new exoplanet, highlighted in the review Naturecould well give us interesting clues about how our Earth took shape. What makes this discovery so special is that it concerns a very young star system, which is rather rare in astronomy and could enrich our knowledge of the birth of planets.
The little secrets of a planet under construction
The newly discovered planet, called IRAS 04125+2902 b or even EAT-1bno matter what three million years on the meter. To give you an idea, if we saw the Earth as a fifty-year-old, TIDYE-1b would be a two-week-old baby! It is located approximately 520 light years of us and goes around his star every 8.8 days. In terms of size, it weighs somewhere between Earth and Neptune and its diameter is downright enormous: approximately 11 times that of our good old blue planet.
A student making waves in astronomy
This impressive find is the fruit of the work of Madyson Barbera student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Already his third planet discovery! This time, it marks a major blow with the youngest system in transit ever spotted. As Barber says: “This is not our first discovery, but it is our greatest because it is the youngest system in transit.”
How did they find this space nugget?
To spot TIDYE-1b, astronomers used the transit method. Basically, it happens when a planet passes in front of its star relative to us here on Earth. This passage causes a small drop in light that researchers can detect.
The system where TIDYE-1b is located also piques curiosity: its star will undoubtedly become an orange dwarf star. And then there are these strange protoplanetary disks—one misaligned and the other depleted—that intrigue scientists seeking to understand how these systems evolve over time.
What does this change for planetary science?
The discovery of TIDYE-1b confirms something interesting: planets can already have a stable shape after just three million years while the Earth took between 10 and 20 million years to fully form. The researchers are sure 95 % measurements concerning its maximum mass, suggesting that it could be a foretaste of super-Earths or sub-Neptunes.
Professor Andrew Mann emphasizes the importance of digging deeper into these young transiting systems: “We don't really know how long it takes planets to form.” Madyson Barber adds that it is crucial to look for more of these young systems because not many are known about them.
Studying these kinds of young star systems could revolutionize our understanding of the first steps in planet formation. As astronomers continue their quest to discover even more of these rare gems of the cosmos, each new find brings important information that could one day shed light on how our own planet formed.
Source : Nature
A reaction? Leave a comment
Did you like this article? Subscribe to our free Newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content and the latest news.
