Rocky 'super-Earth' planet spotted orbiting one of the Milky Way's oldest stars

[Judi Lynn]

By Samantha Mathewson 4 hours ago

The universe has been making rocky planets for a long, long time.



Artist’s rendition of TOI-561, one of the oldest, most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet in the Milky Way galaxy.
(Image: © W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko)

One of the oldest stars in the Milky Way galaxy hosts an unusually hot, rocky "super-Earth" planet, a new study reports.

Known as TOI-561b, this exoplanet is about 50% larger and three times more massive than Earth, researchers said. It whips around its host star in a very close orbit, taking less than 12 hours to complete one lap.

Given this close proximity, TOI-561b has an average surface temperature of over 3,140 degrees Fahrenheit (1,726 degrees Celsius), which is too hot to host any form of life as we know it, according to a statement from the University of California, Riverside.

The researchers also found that TOI-561b's density is similar to that of Earth.

"This is surprising, because you'd expect the density to be higher," study co-author Stephen Kane, a planetary astrophysicist from UC Riverside, said in the statement. "This is consistent with the notion that the planet is extremely old."

More:
https://www.space.com/super-earth-exoplanet-old-star-milky-way?utm_source=notification

[riversedge]

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