07-26-2018, 04:11 PM
Sweet Super-Puffs: These 2 Exoplanets Have the Density of Cotton Candy
By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 26, 2018 06:58am ET![[Image: aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kv...Vfc3EuanBn]](https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA3OC8wMzAvb3JpZ2luYWwvbmVwdHVuZWxpa2Vfc3EuanBn)
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Sweet Super-Puffs: These 2 Exoplanets Have the Density of Cotton Candy
An artist's image of an exoplanet with a bulging atmosphere.
Credit: NASA
It turns out, exoplanets can be as sweet as a trip to the state fair: Two worlds discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope have about the same density as a package of cotton candy. The two planets, which orbit a young star only about 500 million years old, are newborn worlds nearly as wide as gas giants, though they weigh in at less than 10 times the mass of Earth.
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, researchers made follow-up observations of the two "delicious" worlds, known as Kepler-51b and Kepler-51d. They found that the bloated atmospheres of the worlds most likely contained a haze stretching high above their surface. The worlds' expanded atmospheres placed them in a rare class of exoplanets, the super-puffs.
"These are the lowest-density exoplanets to date," Jessica Roberts said last month. She presented the preliminary results during the 232nd semiannual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Denver. A graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Roberts helped sleuth out an Earth-like comparison for the planets. She found an unusual analogue for the super-puffs — a sweet treat. [The Most Intriguing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2017]
"I want you to picture giant planets made of cotton candy," she said.
Read more: https://www.space.com/41279-exoplanet-sy...tification
Candy floss btw, in case my Brit friends didn't know. lol
By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 26, 2018 06:58am ET
MORE
Sweet Super-Puffs: These 2 Exoplanets Have the Density of Cotton Candy
An artist's image of an exoplanet with a bulging atmosphere.
Credit: NASA
It turns out, exoplanets can be as sweet as a trip to the state fair: Two worlds discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope have about the same density as a package of cotton candy. The two planets, which orbit a young star only about 500 million years old, are newborn worlds nearly as wide as gas giants, though they weigh in at less than 10 times the mass of Earth.
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, researchers made follow-up observations of the two "delicious" worlds, known as Kepler-51b and Kepler-51d. They found that the bloated atmospheres of the worlds most likely contained a haze stretching high above their surface. The worlds' expanded atmospheres placed them in a rare class of exoplanets, the super-puffs.
"These are the lowest-density exoplanets to date," Jessica Roberts said last month. She presented the preliminary results during the 232nd semiannual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Denver. A graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Roberts helped sleuth out an Earth-like comparison for the planets. She found an unusual analogue for the super-puffs — a sweet treat. [The Most Intriguing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2017]
"I want you to picture giant planets made of cotton candy," she said.
Read more: https://www.space.com/41279-exoplanet-sy...tification
Candy floss btw, in case my Brit friends didn't know. lol
Chapter 1 progress:
5600/5000 words
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NO DMs, PLEASE. I'M NOT ACTIVE ENOUGH.
5600/5000 words
NO DMs, PLEASE. I'M NOT ACTIVE ENOUGH.
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