Emerging with a series of strange and almost unbelievable characteristics under the gaze of NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), the world located 730 light-years away has disrupted many astronomical theories.
According to Science Alert, a new study has introduced TOI-4603b, an exoplanet that is slightly larger than Jupiter from our Solar System but has a mass equivalent to 12.89 times that of Jupiter.
This means that its mass is roughly equivalent to 4,099 Earths combined.
“This is one of the heaviest and densest known planets to date”, wrote Dr. Akanksha Khandelwal from the Physical Research Laboratory in India, the lead author of the study, in the report.
New planet surprises with lead-like density, breaking many astronomical theories – (Photo: NASA)
What raises even greater questions is how it formed: This planet is so dense it overturns many astronomical theories.
Earth’s density is already considered significant, as our world is a rocky planet, not a gas giant like Jupiter. This planet is three times denser than Earth, leaving scientists puzzled about what could constitute it.
Theoretically, there is a mass limit for how much a planet can possess. Because above a certain critical limit, the temperature and pressure in the core are sufficient to ignite nuclear fusion, the process of fusing atoms together to create heavier elements.
The maximum mass limit of a planet is 10 to 13 times that of Jupiter, but this would have to be a planet significantly larger than Jupiter, not just close.
Its density is comparable to that of a brown dwarf, which is half-planet, half-star, forming directly from clouds of material. Brown dwarfs are just shy of qualifying as stars, yet they possess characteristics that planets cannot have, including self-formation from gas and dust, size, and density.
However, TOI-4603b is a true planet. In terms of known elements on Earth, this planet may need to be composed of lead, a dense, uniform mass akin to a giant cannonball. Yet, this is also a rather unreasonable structure for a planet.
This object also shows signs of migrating toward its parent star, something that our Jupiter has done in the past.
According to the authors, there are many unanswered mysteries, and scientists hope it will contribute rich data to the planetary database, as well as one day gain a clearer understanding of it after discovering more similar worlds.
The study has been published online and has passed the peer review process of the scientific journal Astronomy Astrophysics Letters, and it will soon be officially published in this journal.
