Exoplanets are planets located outside the Solar System. Basically, exoplanets belong to a planetary system but follow the orbit of a star, black hole, remnant or another planet instead of following the orbit of the Sun. Therefore, they contain countless strange characteristics and properties that are considered valuable knowledge stores for astronomy researchers.
Exoplanets come in all shapes and sizes, and can be strange in many ways. A recently announced discovery has uncovered an exoplanet called TIC 241249530 b, which has the most extreme orbit recorded to date in the history of astronomical research.
In fact, most planets don't have perfectly circular orbits around their host star—including those in our own solar system—but rather elliptical orbits, slightly stretched out on either side. The degree of this stretching is called eccentricity, and is measured on a scale of 0 to 1, with 0 being a perfect circle and 1 being extremely elongated. For example, Pluto has a very elongated orbit compared to the planets in our solar system, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.25. Earth, by comparison, has an orbital eccentricity of just 0.02.
However, scientists have discovered that TIC 241249530 b has an almost unprecedented orbital eccentricity of 0.94. Assuming the planet were also in our solar system, it would theoretically be 10 times closer to the sun than Mercury and would also be very close to Earth's orbit. In terms of surface temperatures, this would mean a shift between a warm summer day and one hot enough to melt titanium. This extreme temperature change has scientists curious about what effect it would have on the planet's atmosphere.
Another aspect of interest is how the planet's orbit evolves over time. Scientists predict that tidal forces closer to the star will cause the planet's orbit to become more circular.
TIC 241249530 b is essentially a type of planet called a hot Jupiter, which are similar in size to Jupiter but much closer to their host stars, and are typically found outside our solar system. Astronomers are not yet sure how these planets got so close to their stars, for example they could have formed farther away and migrated closer over time.
Modern Space Telescope systems such as NASA's James Webb are sensitive enough to probe changes in the atmosphere of this newly discovered exoplanet as it undergoes rapid heating, so there is still much to learn and study in the future.
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Exoplanets are planets located outside the Solar System.
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