Astronomers from the United States have discovered an exoplanet, it orbits one of the brightest stars; initiating an idea of how planetary bodies could be formed. It is said that an exoplanet is a planet that is orbiting a star different from ours, not belonging to our solar system.
The study was done by The Astrophysical Journal Letters, who named the planet DS Tuc Ab, while the star was described as the host; This planet is approximately 45 million years old, that is, in planetary time it is considered a preadolescent.
According to Dartmouth College researchers: The exoplanet is no longer growing. However, at its young age it still experiences changes such as the loss of atmospheric gas due to radiation from the host star. It is said that when planets are born, in general, they are large and gradually lose size, suffering from cooling and loss of atmosphere.
Characteristics of the Exoplanet 'DS Tuc Ab'.
It is located at a distance of 150 light years from Earth. It has two suns and its orbit is around its main star in just 8 days. Its size is 6 times greater than that of the earth, resembling Saturn and Neptune, and may have a composition similar to them.
It should be noted that the planets can take millions and even billions of years to fully reach maturity. So the objective of the researchers is to search for planets around young stars to know and understand their evolution.
The statements of Elisabeth newton were:
TESS is a satellite launched on April 18, 2018, it will be tasked with examining more than 200.000 stars around the sun in search of exoplanets, including those that may possibly support life.
The Newton Group hopes to understand atmospheric escape and evaporation from the atmosphere, both of which could predict the future of the exoplanet in the next few million years, as well as how this may have affected other planets.