Planet with cotton candy density discovered by scientists

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WASP-193b illustrationMIT

A team of astronomers from the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States has revealed a surprising discovery: the identification of a gigantic gas planet named WASP-193b. The planet, described as “super cute” and light, represents an intriguing new addition to the catalog of exoplanets with masses similar to those of Jupiter and Neptune, but with considerably larger volumes.

Scientists were amazed to find that WASP-193b is 50 percent larger than Jupiter, but has only a little more than a tenth of its mass. This peculiarity has led researchers to compare the exoplanet to a kind of cosmic “cotton candy.”

The discovery represents a breakthrough in the knowledge of light exoplanets, with the title of lightest known exoplanet remaining with Kepler-51d, discovered in 2014 and the size of Neptune. However, it is significantly smaller than Jupiter and about 30 times less dense.

The surprise doesn’t stop there: according to the study published in Nature Astronomy, astronomers are baffled by the formation process of WASP-193b, as none of the classical models of planetary evolution can explain its origin. Located 1,200 light-years from Earth, the exoplanet orbits a Sun-like star.

The team of scientists hopes that future observations of WASP-193b will provide new clues about the secrets of these giant stars, which defy expectations of planetary evolution and survive in extreme environments for billions of years.

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