Discovery of a record super-Earth: it is one of the most massive ever sighted, with a radius that is almost double that of our planet and a mass ten times greater.
The sighting of this alien planet, called TOI-1075 b, is due to NASA's Tess space telescope (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and the article reporting its discovery has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.
The new super-Earth, about 200 light-years away, has already revealed extreme characteristics: due to its proximity to its star, the surface temperature is around a thousand degrees, it is covered in molten magma and one year lasts just half a day , that is to say that it takes only 14.5 hours to complete a complete revolution around the celestial body.
Tess found the planet thanks to the transit method.
To detect distant celestial bodies, the telescope scans the night sky for changes in brightness. If a star's light dims periodically, it could indicate the presence of a planet blocking its light as it passes by.
This technique has already enabled TESS, launched in 2018, to discover more than 5,000 exoplanet candidates, a milestone celebrated earlier this year.
Based on its mass, TOI-1075 b should have an atmosphere composed of hydrogen and helium, but in this case the researchers consider unlikely.
But the alternative could be even more fascinating: "The planet could be totally devoid of atmosphere - comment the authors of the study - it could have one formed by vapors of metals and silicates (a class of minerals) due to the ocean of magma, or – add the researchers – there could also be a very thin atmosphere composed of hydrogen and helium or CO2”.