NASA discovers “Planet Silk”, very soft, but larger than Jupiter!!

NASA discovers a new exoplanet larger than Jupiter, but its mass is very light and dense, resembling cotton candy!?

The planet, known as WASP-193b and nicknamed Super-Puffs, is about 1,200 light-years away from Earth, and is 50% larger than Jupiter, or about 1.5 times, but it is 7 times lighter, or about 0.059 grams per cubic centimeter, while Jupiter's mass density is about 1.33 grams per cubic centimeter. near Saimai with a mass density of only 0.05 grams per cubic centimeter

Super-Puffs are the second least dense exoplanets of all the planets discovered by NASA (the first is Kepler-51d).

The planet's density was confirmed after many years of observations. After this large planet orbits its sun-like star, it completes a full revolution every 6.25 days.

Researchers from the EXOTIC Laboratory at the University of Liège in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Institute of Astrophysics (Institute of Astrophysics) in Andalusia keep in mind that the mass and density of this planet is small, making it appear abnormal, and this is in comparison with more than 5,000 other planets that have been discovered so far. Because being a planet of Super-Puffs can't be replicated. There is no supporting theory. How did it become a planet?

The fact that it has been compared to cotton candy is because they both have similar masses. And there's plenty of air inside, too. Researchers say the star's appearance is as soft as cotton candy.

Researchers also believe that the planet's main components are hydrogen and helium. Like other gaseous planets, these gases can swell to enormous sizes. But there is still no theory that can say that. Why did it swell so large?

The Super-Puffs, or WASP-193b, were first discovered as part of the Wide Angle Search for Planets Project, or WASP, which will have two high-tech robotic observatories in the northern and southern hemispheres to track and search for the northern stars. Sky by Super-Puffs has been on my radar for years. It has been checked for brightness. When it rotates in front of the star, this allows scientists to determine its size.

Later, astronomers used the observatory. TRAPPIST-South and SPECULOOS-South in Chile to confirm the planet's appearance. However, nowadays the team aims to find its origins. They are making additional observations and theories, and plan to use the James Webb Space Telescope to examine it in more detail.

This discovery was published in the journal Nature Astronomy and those interested can go to this link for more in-depth details >> http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02259-y