Scientists have discovered a young Jupiter-sized exoplanet HD-114082b. Analysis results show that it is not like two ordinary gas giant planets, simply put, it is much heavier. Astronomer Olga Sakhojai and a team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany observe a planet 300 light years away, only about 15 million years old, the youngest known exoplanet to date.

Exoplanets are usually detected by two methods: the transit method and the radial velocity method. The transit method is when an exoplanet passes in front of its parent star and the star’s brightness decreases. As long as the star’s original brightness and the amount and duration of the dimming are known, the radius of the planet and the radius of its orbit can be calculated. The radial velocity law infers the mass of an exoplanet from the magnitude of the stellar motion, and the combination of the two gives the orbital inclination.

Over the past four years, researchers have analyzed data on the parent star and the planets. HD-114082b has a radius 8 times that of Jupiter, but its mass is 8 times that of Jupiter, meaning that HD-114082b has twice the density of Earth or 10 times that of Jupiter.

However, young HD-114082b’s size and mass make it unlikely to be a massive rocky planet. The upper limit for a rocky planet is 3 Earth radii and 25 Earth masses. As long as this value exceeds this value, the dense celestial body and the planet’s gravity can hold a large amount of hydrogen, forming a helium atmosphere. HD-114082b exceeds this value, it is clear that it must be a gas giant planet, but astronomers still do not know the cause of HD. Value of -114082b.

Scientists believe that giant planets form in two ways: “cold start” or “hot start”. Cold start is caused by fragments surrounding the protoplanetary disk attracting each other due to static electricity and then mass being attracted by gravity. Until the mass is large enough, causing an uncontrolled accumulation of hydrogen and helium, this method will form a rock surrounded by a large layer of gas, and as the gas falls to the core, it will lose heat, this is called a cold start. Hot start is also called disc instability and occurs when an unstable rotating region of the protoplanetary disc collapses directly into a full planet under the action of gravity. This method has no rocks, and the gas does not release gravitational potential energy. By falling, more heat is retained.

The cooling rate of the two methods is also different. The researchers believe that the characteristics of HD-114082b are not consistent with the hot start model, but even if the cold start model is applied, the volume would be much larger than the core. Abnormally weak or an unknown mechanism occurs. HD-114082b is one of three exoplanets less than 30 million years old, all of which are close to the cold start model, but the three sample sizes are too small. Scientists need more planets of this type to examine. In their guesses, perhaps they should further improve the cold start model. Research published in Astronomy & Astrophysicsperiodicals.

(This article is sponsored by Taipei Planetarium Reprint authorized; The first image is the birth of a gas giant planet, drawn by the artist, source:IT)