Located 1,113 light years away from Earth and revolving around a single star, two planets resembling Jupiter in size but with the density of cotton candy have been discovered.
These recently identified exoplanets belong to a category known as “super-puffs,” distinguished by their remarkably low density.
Lead author of the study unveiling these peculiar planets, University of Oxford astrophysicist George Dransfield, likens them to “a nice blob of shaving foam straight from the can.”
How these puffy celestial bodies, larger than Earth by a factor of 1,000, evolve into planets remains a mystery, as explained by co-author Antoine Petit, a mathematician at France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, in an interview with As It Happens host Nil Koksal.
“We do not have a definitive answer yet,” Petit stated. “Significant theoretical investigation is required to comprehend how these planets maintain their colossal size.”
The study detailing these findings was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Thursday.
Defining the Super-Puff Phenomenon
Super-puffs are deemed rare entities in the universe, with NASA cataloging nearly 6,300 confirmed planets beyond our solar system, of which less than 40 qualify as super-puffs.
“The presence of two super-puffs orbiting the same star adds significant weight to this discovery,” noted Lisa Dang, an astrophysicist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
These enigmatic planets pose a conundrum as typically, planets with substantial mass are denser rather than larger.
“Essentially, as they accumulate mass, their gravitational force tends to compress the planet,” elucidated Dang, who was not involved in the research.
“These super-puff planets are intriguing because they imply the existence of an internal mechanism responsible for their inflation.”
According to Nicolas Cowan, a professor of physics and planetary sciences at McGill University in Montreal, there are two primary theories explaining the existence of these gigantic puffballs — either they are extremely young or exceedingly hot.
“Given that they are gaseous entities, their size is predominantly influenced by temperature,” Cowan explained, emphasizing that he was not part of the discovery team.
“Thus, a planet composed of similar materials as Jupiter can expand if its internal temperature rises, or shrink if cooled.”
Young super-puffs, he added, “have not yet undergone sufficient cooling to condense their interiors.”
On the other hand, older super-puffs may sustain a continuous heat source