They discovered a planet that is “too massive for its star” | Shocking the scientific community

Pennsylvania State University scientists have discovered A planet ‘too big for its star’which raises some questions in the scientific community because it challenges everything known so far about the formation of planets and the solar system.

teacher Suvra MahadevanProfessor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and co-author of the study published in the prestigious journal sciencesaid of the discovery: “This discovery highlights the limits of our understanding of the universe. We did not expect such a heavy planet to exist around such a low-mass star.“, explain.

An “impossible” planet

Specifically, astronomers discovered a planet It has a mass more than 13 times that of Earth and orbits the ultracool star LHS 3154. Surprisingly, this star is nine times less massive than the newfound LHS 3154b and the Sun. Its host star is more than 100 times more massive than the main star we know of between Earth and the Sun.The discovery radically challenges current theories about how planets form around small stars. This is the first time a planet of this mass has been observed orbiting such a low-mass star.

Stars are formed from huge clouds of gas and dust. Disks of material orbiting newborn stars can, over time, evolve into planets.

However, the planet-forming disk around LHS 3154 suggests It does not have enough mass to form the planet“But it’s here, so We must now re-examine our understanding of how planets and stars form“Scientists said.

The planet is similar in size and composition to Neptunethe smallest of the four gas planets in the solar system. Neptune’s diameter is about four times that of Earth. The methods used to study the planet do not allow researchers to measure its diameter, but They suspect it is three to four times larger than Earth.

Neptune lacks a solid surface, has an atmosphere composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, a mantle composed mostly of ammonia and water, and a solid core. Since its composition is probably similar to Neptune and it is close to its star, it is unlikely to support life.said Guðmundur Stefánsson, an astronomer at Princeton University and the lead author of the study.