About 1,113 light years away from Earth, circling a single star, two planets resembling Jupiter in size but with the density of cotton candy have been discovered. These newfound exoplanets are classified as “super-puffs,” rare planets known for their remarkably low density. Lead author of the study detailing these unique planets, University of Oxford astrophysicist George Dransfield, likens them to a fluffy mass of shaving foam.
The mystery of how these expansive, puffy celestial bodies evolve into planets 1,000 times larger than Earth remains unresolved. Co-author Antoine Petit, a mathematician at France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, admits there is much theoretical work needed to comprehend the mechanism behind these oversized planets.
Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the research sheds light on the rarity of super-puffs in the universe, with less than 40 of them among over 6,300 confirmed planets outside our solar system. The discovery of two super-puffs orbiting the same star adds to the intrigue, according to astrophysicist Lisa Dang from the University of Waterloo.
These enigmatic super-puffs challenge conventional wisdom as planets with significant mass typically exhibit higher density rather than size. According to Nicolas Cowan, a professor at McGill University, two prevailing theories suggest that super-puffs are either young and hot or sustained by tidal heating processes.
Detected by NASA’s Tess satellite, the two newly found super-puff planets revolve around a star in the Volans constellation. Initial speculations point to their composition being hydrogen and helium, pending confirmation by NASA’s Webb Space Telescope through follow-up observations.
One of the super-puffs, nearly Jupiter’s size, contains only 3% of Jupiter’s mass, while the other, even larger, holds just 5.9% of Jupiter’s mass. Petit describes them as sibling planets, sharing a gravitational bond due to their prolonged orbital dance.
Further research is crucial to validate the calculations of the planets’ mass and characteristics, with hopes that these discoveries will offer profound insights into planet evolution.
