This planet is as big as Jupiter but 10 times lighter, could change human understanding of planetary formation
Unlike other gas giants like Jupiter, 85 percent of this exoplanet named WASP-107b s mass is its puffy atmosphere
NASA satellite crashed into Saturn
It was in 2017 that researchers discovered a giant exoplanet named WASP-107b. And now, space experts have revealed that this exoplanet is as large as Jupiter but is 10 times lighter than the gas giant in the solar system. Understanding the fluffy nature of WASP-107b is considered very crucial as it could change human understanding of planetary formation.
More details of WASP-107b
This Extremely Fluffy Exoplanet Is Changing Our Understanding of Planetary Formation
19 JANUARY 2021
One of the fluffiest exoplanets we ve ever found in the Milky Way galaxy is challenging our understanding of how giant planets form.
It s called WASP-107b, orbiting an orange dwarf star 211 light-years away, and it was already known as one of the lowest density exoplanets when its discovery was announced in 2017. A new analysis shows the puffy planet is even puffier than astronomers thought.
That means its core is much less massive than initially calculated, a finding that could have pretty big implications for exoplanet research overall. This work addresses the very foundations of how giant planets can form and grow, said astrophysicist Björn Benneke of the University of Montreal in Canada.