Oddly Orbiting Planet Transforming into New World
Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet with an extraordinary, highly elongated orbit that may be evolving into a “hot Jupiter.” Named TIC 241249530 b, this planet orbits a star about 1,100 light-years from Earth. This star is part of a binary system, meaning it also orbits another star.
Hot Jupiters are massive planets that orbit very close to their stars, completing a full orbit in just a few days. TIC 241249530 b, observed by NASA’s TESS satellite in January 2020, has an unusually elongated orbit with an eccentricity of 0.94. This makes its orbit much more oval compared to other known exoplanets. The planet takes about six months to complete one orbit, experiencing dramatic temperature swings as it moves closer to and farther from its star.
Weighing about five times as much as Jupiter, TIC 241249530 b also has a rare retrograde orbit, meaning it moves in the opposite direction to its star’s rotation. When it nears its star, temperatures can soar high enough to melt titanium, while at its furthest point, temperatures drop to levels similar to a warm summer day on Earth.
Researchers confirmed the planet’s presence and its unique orbit using the WIYN Telescope. They suggest that TIC 241249530 b likely formed at a greater distance from its star and was gradually pulled closer by the gravitational influence of the companion star in the binary system.
Over hundreds of millions of years, the planet’s orbit is expected to become more circular, eventually resembling the orbits of typical hot Jupiters.
The research team plans to use the James Webb Space Telescope to further investigate the planet’s atmosphere and how it reacts to these extreme temperature variations.
Re-reported from the article originally published in CNN.
