WASHINGTON: With help from a state-of-the-art ground telescope located in the Canary Islands, researchers at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory detected a planetary system made up of three super-Earths and a gas giant closely orbiting a dwarf star located in the constellation Cassiopeia.
The newly found system has at its center a dwarf star scientifically dubbed HR 8832 which is bright enough to be observed with the naked eye but dimmer and smaller than our sun. Scientists noted that the dwarf star is located nearly 21 light years away.
The extrasolar system which now has a name – HD 219134b – comprises three inner super-Earths, or exoplanets that are considerably larger than our planet but smaller than our solar system’s ice giants, and one outer gas giant.
Astronomers also found that one of the three super-Earths periodically transits its host star. That planet which was called HD 219134b is nearly 5 times heavier than the Earth and more than 1.5 times larger. Additionally, its orbit is very tight since the planet manages to revolve around HR 8832 every three days.
Its founders stated that the fast transiting super-Earth is the closest planet to its host star they saw until today. And staying so close to your host star has some consequences. Astronomers speculate that the planet is a molten world with many active volcanoes and scorching temperatures.
Researchers believe that its surface may be doted with volcanoes because it looks like a rocky planet and its mass and size point into that direction.
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