Scientists have discovered a world nearly the same size as Earth, with a star nearly the same as our sun.
But that’s where the similarities end. This exoplanet is a world outside our solar system that is ten times younger, exponentially hotter, and likely half-submerged in a sea of lava.
Astronomers discovered the new planet HD 63433 d using NASA’s TESS probe (short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). The mission aims to discover thousands of exoplanets orbiting the brightest dwarf stars in space.
Curious new planets discovered by astronomers in 2023
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This scorched-earth world is the smallest and closest known young exoplanet, only 73 light-years away. Scientists estimate that it is about 400 million years old, which pales in comparison to our 4.5 billion-year-old home planet.
“Young Earth-like worlds are a key test bed for prevailing theories that constrain planet formation and evolution,” the discoverers said in a new paper published in the journal Planets. Journal of Astronomy.
Mix and match speed of light
The number of confirmed exoplanets has increased to 5,569, with more than 10,000 other candidates under review. Statistically speaking, the growing numbers only scratch the surface of the planets thought to exist in space. There are billions of galaxies in the universe, probably filled with trillions of stars. If most stars had one or more planets surrounding them – then the number of hidden worlds would be incalculable.
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HD 63433 d is interesting because one side of it always faces its star. Furthermore, it is much closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun: in fact, it is eight times closer to its host star than Mercury is to the Sun. This makes the exoplanet’s orbit so comfortable that its year is only four days long. Any experienced sunbather knows that if you don’t turn over, you can get badly burned on one side.
Astronomers believe that the side facing the star experiences temperatures of about 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit. But the far side of the planet, which never receives starlight, remains a mystery, and the team hopes to learn more in the future. The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful infrared telescope in the universe, can reveal more details about this young world and look for signs of its atmosphere.
“Young planets are exciting because we can study how planets change over time by measuring their properties at different ages,” said Andrew Vanderburg, one of the co-authors of X. “It’s a bit like looking at how humans age. Come study the aging process of the planet.” Babies, children, teenagers and adults, no need to wait for babies to grow up. “
