What is the upper terminal point on how large a jolting planet can be ? This is a contentious area in uranology . Generally , it ’s think that above about1.6 timesthe spoke of Earth , a satellite will become a flatulence whale . Anything below this is a super - land , and smaller still are the mundane planets the size of Earth , Mars , and so on .
But that bound might need to be revised based on a young discovery . Astronomers say they have found a Neptune - sized exoplanet that is rocky in its composition . The satellite , named BD+20594b , is an estimated 2.23 times the wheel spoke of Earth and 16.3 times its mass . If confirmed , this would be among the largest rocky planets we ’ve ever establish .
see about 500 light - years from Earth , BD+20594b fill in an orbit of its innkeeper Sun - comparable star every 42 days . “ If confirm to be rocky , the composition of BD+20594b would be unprecedented for exoplanets of this size , ” the authors note in their paper onArxiv . The research was led by Nestor Espinoza from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago .
The author follow to the conclusion that the satellite is likely jumpy because of its mass - to - radius proportion , from which its compactness can be bet : 8 grams per three-dimensional centimetre , compared to 5.5 for Earth . " We fuck it ’s rocky and not gaseous by its density , " Espinoza state IFLScience . Namely , if the satellite was gaseous and not bouldery , it would have a larger spoke reach its mass .
Some caution is take , though ; the researchers take note that further field will be need to affirm its bouldery opus , particularly as it is at the heatedly deliberate boundary between terrestrial planets and gas giants . " The errors on the pile are large ! " summate Espinoza . " However , I ’m certain it is not gaseous . It might be an ' ocean ' planet though , although the data point is most logical with a jolting planet . "
The planet was key using the Kepler space telescope , as part of its current K2 foreign mission , with follow - up observations from the HARPS spectrograph at the La Silla Observatory in Chile . And its discovery could have significant implications for our rapidly ameliorate cognition of exoplanets . Other suspected large stony planets , or “ mega earth , ” includeKepler-10c , 17.2 times the mass of Earth and 2.35 times its radius . However , its position as a jolting planethas been questioned . It seems the researcher are more positive that BD+20594b is one of the largest rough planets we know of to day of the month .
" BD+20594b is currently the only planet which could actually have the claim of ' Mega - Earth , ' a title we ’ll see if it actually has when we have more data at hired man , " Espinoza added .
[ H / T : Universe Today ]
