Universe is a deep mystery, and astronomers and other experts are continuously trying to unravel one or the other secret through their research. In a recent study, it has been discovered that there exists a hot and rocky exoplanet known as super-Earth. This planet is present in the Milky Way galaxy and is believed to be orbiting around one of the oldest stars in the galaxy.
According to a report published in the CNN, the super-Earth is being called a exoplanet because it is located outside the solar system. The reason behind the name is that the super-Earth has thrice the mass of Earth and is approximately 50% bigger than the Earth. This planet is also known as TOI-561b.
According to the experts, the super-Earth can complete one orbit around its star in less than half an Earth day. As far as the temperature of this planet is concerned, it is somewhere around 3140+ degrees Fahrenheit. The surface temperature is a result of the proximity to the star. Stephen Kane, study co-author and astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside, in a statement has confirmed the information regarding the orbit time. He mentioned that for every day that a person spends on Earth, the exoplanet orbits its star twice.
The next obvious question that arises here is how was this planet named TOI-561b was discovered. The experts had found this planet through the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission which was launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2018. The said planet was found in the thick galactic disk of the Milky Way galaxy. In order to be entirely sure about their finding, the experts went to W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii for determining super-Earth’s mass, radius and density. Understanding of the mass and radius helps astronomers to know more about its internal structure.
Their findings were shocking as they discovered that even though planet’s mass is three times that of Earth, its density is almost the same. Reacting to this Stephen Kane said, “This is surprising because one would expect the density to be higher.”
He also mentioned that this planet is not capable for supporting habitable life. Stephen added that knowing about planet's interior helps in understanding whether the surface of the planet is habitable or not. “Though this particular planet is unlikely to be inhabited today, it may be a harbinger of many rocky worlds yet to be discovered around our galaxy's oldest stars,” he added.