TOI-849_b

TOI-849 b

TOI-849 b

Exoplanet


TOI-849 b is an exoplanet orbiting the late G-type star TOI-849. It is a candidate chthonian planet, the exposed core of a gas giant that had its atmosphere stripped away by stellar radiation.

Quick Facts Discovery, Discovered by ...

Characteristics

TOI-849 b is claimed to be a high-density planet more massive than Neptune, nearly forty times the mass of Earth. It was found very close to its host star, within the Neptunian desert, so it may well be classified as a chthonian planet.[1] [2]

Compared to other exoplanets that orbit very close to their stars, this planet seems to be quite unusual. It is nearly 40 times the mass of Earth, but only about three times as big in radius. The gravity of such massive worlds should attract large amounts of gas from the disk of material out of which planets form, causing them to become gas giants. If TOI-849 b is Chthonian, it will have had its atmosphere stripped away by stellar radiation, leaving just the core behind. Planets with similar masses to TOI-849 b are usually 5 to 10 times as wide as Earth, but TOI-849 b has a much smaller radius, providing evidence that it lacks a substantial atmosphere. This makes it likely a rocky planet. If this exoplanet is indeed a rocky planet, it is one of the largest terrestrial exoplanets known.


References

  1. Armstrong DJ, Lopez TA, Zhan Z (June 1, 2020). "A remnant planetary core in the hot-Neptune desert". Nature. 583 (7814): 39–42. arXiv:2003.10314. Bibcode:2020Natur.583...39A. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2421-7. PMID 32612222. S2CID 214612138.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article TOI-849_b, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.