Indian Scientists Discover Alien Planet 13 Times Larger Than Jupiter
A team led by Professor Abhijit Chakraborty of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, has made a groundbreaking discovery – the densest alien planet ever found, measuring 13 times the size of Jupiter. This remarkable finding marks the third exoplanet identified by PRL scientists and has been published in the esteemed journal Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.
To precisely measure the planet’s mass, scientists from India, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States utilized the PRL Advanced Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search spectrograph (PARAS) at the Gurushikhar Observatory in Mt. Abu. The planet’s mass was determined to be a staggering 14 g/cm³, a result made possible by this cutting-edge technology.
The newfound exoplanet, named TOI 4603b or HD 245134b, orbits a star known as TOI-4603. This sub-giant F-type star was observed by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Scientists consider this alien planet to be a rare discovery due to its extreme density, falling within the transitional mass range between massive giant planets and low-mass brown dwarfs. It joins a select group of less than five objects known in this mass range.
Situated 731 light-years away from Earth, TOI 4603b completes a full orbit around its star in just 7.24 days. With scorching temperatures reaching 1,396 degrees Celsius, this planet is undeniably hostile. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) emphasized the significance of this finding in a press release, highlighting the valuable insights it provides into the formation, migration, and evolution mechanisms of massive exoplanets.
The discovery of this immense alien planet showcases the remarkable progress made by Indian scientists and their contributions to expanding our knowledge of the universe.
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