Getting to know one of the most massive exoplanets in our galaxy
The discovery has been made by a team of scientists led by Zahra Essack, belonging to MIT, and is published on the Arvix website. The exoplanet in question has been called TOI-1075b and it has been categorized as Super Earthbeing one of the most massive ever discovered, with almost 10 times the mass of our planet. The protagonist also orbits a red star 200 light years away of our position.
Illustration created by NASA to show what this huge planet would be like. POT
However, these are not the most interesting and spectacular data of the discovery. No. According to research by MIT scientists, TOI-1075 b is an extremely hot planetwith an estimated temperature on its surface that exceeds 1,000ºC. This is because it has a very short orbit around its startaking only 14 and a half hours to make a complete turn. Imagine all the things you do during the year, squeezed into such a short time.
These Super-Earths usually look like rocky planets, although in this case there is a more than reasonable doubt that their surface does not harbor rivers nor is it inhabitable, but is lava cover. Planets the size of TOI-1075 b tend to have a thicker atmosphere and this is usually composed of hydrogen and helium, although its temperature and density indicate that we are facing a key planet to explain a little more how these celestial bodies are formed. By the way, the discovery has been possible thanks to the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and NASA has seen fit to call it comically ‘a real Hulk’.