An international team of astronomers has discovered a Neptune-like exoplanet. It is located 90 light-years away from our planet and is believed to have water clouds. This discovery marks a leap in exoplanet research, reports CBS News.
The exoplanet dubbed TOI-1231 b is situated outside Earth’s solar system. It resembles Neptune due to its gaseous states and rich atmospheres. The exoplanet revolves around a red-dwarf star NLTT 24399 and completes one orbit in 24 Earth days. The red-dwarf is smaller, dimmer, and has less density than our Sun.
15.4 times more mass than Earth
The mass of the exoplanet is 15.4 times larger than our planet. Despite closely orbiting its star, TOI-1231 b is colder than other exoplanets at an average of 134 degrees Fahrenheit. It is said to be one of the coldest and smallest exoplanets discovered so far. However, it’s not habitable due to its size.
“Even though TOI-1231 b is eight times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, its temperature is similar to that of Earth, thanks to its cooler and less bright host star,” said study co-author Diana Dragomir, an exoplanetologist at the University of New Mexico. “However, the planet itself is actually larger than Earth and a little bit smaller than Neptune—we could call it a sub-Neptune.”
TESS data helped in the discovery
Cold planets sometimes have clouds high in their atmospheres. By comparing the new exoplanet with its counterparts in temperature and size, researchers can infer whether water clouds exist there or not.
“TOI-1231 b is one of the only other planets we know of in a similar size and temperature range, so future observations of this new planet will let us determine just how common (or rare) it is for water clouds to form around these temperate worlds,” said lead author Jennifer Burt, a NASA JPL scientist.
The scientist used data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS observes 200,000 of the brightest stars close to our Sun. It hunts for exoplanets by identifying transits that occur when a planet blocks light from the star it is revolving around.
