Key information
- Madyson Barber has discovered the youngest transiting planet ever identified, named TIDYE-1b.
- The planet is roughly the size of Jupiter and is estimated to be 3 million years old.
- The young age of TIDYE-1b places it in a remarkably young category compared to other known planets.
A Caroline postgraduate student’s research has led to the discovery of the youngest transiting planet ever identified. Madyson Barber, led by Andrew Mann, associate professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, found the planet named TIDYE-1b, which is roughly the size of Jupiter and estimated to be 3 million years old. ‘years. This age puts it in a remarkably young category compared to other known planets – a bit like a two-week-old infant if Earth were a 50-year-old.
The discovery process
Barber’s research, conducted as part of Mann’s Young Worlds Lab, focuses on uncovering the mysteries surrounding the formation of young planets and their evolution. The lab uses an observational approach, meticulously analyzing the light emitted by stars for fluctuations that might indicate the presence of a transiting planet. These drops in brightness, caused by the passage of a planet in front of its host star, are key indicators for researchers looking for these celestial bodies.
Discover young planets
While astronomers have already identified numerous transiting planets between 10 and 40 million years old, younger planets have remained elusive due to the dense protoplanetary disks that typically envelop stars early in their lives. However, TIDYE-1b is orbiting a star whose disk has an unusual misalignment, which made it possible to detect it. The cause of this misalignment remains a mystery to astronomers.
Future research plans
Further observations are planned at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii and proposals have been submitted to use the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest in space. These projects aim to unlock the secrets of TIDYE-1b and its origins, and to shed light on the complex processes that govern the formation and evolution of planets.
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