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Astronomers have discovered an enormous, low-density planet named WASP-193b, which is 50% larger than Jupiter but has a cotton candy-like density. This finding challenges current planetary formation theories, as scientists cannot explain how such a planet could form.

Astronomers have discovered a huge, fluffy oddball of a planet orbiting a distant star in our Milky Way galaxy. The discovery, reported on May 14 in the journal Nature Astronomy by researchers from at MIT, the University of Liège in Belgium, and elsewhere, is a promising key to the mystery of how such giant, super-light planets form.

The new planet, named WASP-193b, appears to dwarf Jupiter in size, yet it is a fraction of its density. The scientists found that the gas giant is 50 percent bigger than Jupiter, and about a tenth as dense — an extremely low density, comparable to that of cotton candy.

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In response to these problems, the authors of the new paper came up with a simple suggestion: a tweak to Einstein’s theory at different distance scales.

“The modification is very simple: We assume the universal constant of gravitation is different on cosmological scales, compared to smaller (like solar system or galactic) scales,” Afshordi said. “We call this a cosmic glitch.”

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#Lunar #Landforms indicate Geologically Recent #Seismic #Activity on the #Moon.

The moon’s steadfast illumination of our night sky has been a source of wonder and inspiration for millennia. Since the first satellite images of its surface were taken in the 1960s, our understanding of Earth’s companion through time has developed immeasurably. A complex interplay of cosmic interactions and planetary systems, the moon’s surface displays a plethora of landforms evidencing its history.

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Physicists haven’t yet ruled out the possibility that the universe has a complicated topology in which space loops back around on itself.

About 9.2 billion light-years from Earth is a colossal structure which has confounded astronomers.

The discovery might upend current cosmological theories.

What they’ve found is a 1.3-billion-light-year-across, almost perfect ring of galaxies. No such structure has been seen before. And it doesn’t match any known formation mechanism. It has been dubbed the “Big Ring.”

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WASP-193 b is the second least dense planet discovered to date, after Kepler-51 d, which is much smaller,” said Dr. Khalid Barkaoui. “Its extremely low density makes it a real anomaly among the more than five thousand exoplanets discovered to date.

Can gas giant exoplanets larger than Jupiter have less density than the latter? This is what study published today in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of international researchers discovered WASP-193 b in 2023, which is located just under 1,200 light-years from Earth and orbits its parent star (slightly larger than our Sun) in only 6.25 days. What’s unique about WASP-193 b is that it exhibits a radius almost 1.5 times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, but whose mass is only 14 percent of Jupiter and whose density is just under 4 percent of Jupiter, as well. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanets, which continue to challenge our understanding of solar system architecture.

WASP-193 b has a density of approximately 0.059 grams per centimeter cubed (g/cm3), which is comparable to cotton candy. For context, Jupiter has a density of 1.33 g/cm3, Saturn has a density of 0.69 g/cm3, Uranus has a density of 1.27 g/cm3, and Neptune has a density of 1.64 g/cm3. Therefore, despite being larger than Jupiter, WASP-193b’s density is far less than the largest gas giant in our solar system.

Continue reading “Exploring WASP-193 b: A Cotton Candy-like Exoplanet” »