Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet
The planet is about 23 times Earth’s mass and 2.5 times wider, a density that suggests little atmosphere and defies standard formation models.
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Astronomers Discover Rocky 170-million-year-old 'mega-Earth' That Defies Planet Formation Theories
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. In a discovery that challenges current theories of planetary formation, astronomers have discovered an unusually dense, giant exoplanet that boasts 23 times the weight of Earth while remaining predominantly rocky. The 170-million-year-old planet is more than 2.5 times larger than Earth! World News | Astronomers Discover Rocky 170-million-year-old 'mega-Earth' That Defies Planet Formation Theo…
Astronomers discover rocky 170-million-year-old mega-Earth that defies planet formation theories - The Tribune
In a discovery that challenges current theories of planetary formation, astronomers have discovered an unusually dense, giant exoplanet that boasts 23 times the weight of Earth while remaining predominantly rocky. The 170-million-year-old planet is more than 2.5 times larger than Earth!
At 23.5 times Earth’s mass, GJ 523b is massive enough that standard planet-formation models struggle to explain why it didn’t accumulate a huge hydrogen-helium envelope — yet the planet is extraordinarily dense and apparently mostly rock, and astronomers still don’t know how it ended up that way.
GJ 523b looks ordinary until astronomers put it on a scale. The planet is 2.55 times Earth’s radius, placing it among the sub-Neptunes that usually carry deep layers of volatile material or hydrogen and helium. Yet it weighs 23.5 Earth masses. Pack that much material into its measured volume and the result is a bulk density of 7.8 grams per cubic centimetre, about 40 percent greater than Earth’s. It is a planet with the dimensions of one familia…
Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet
Astronomers have discovered an unusually massive, dense exoplanet that challenges conventional ideas about how rocky planets form.Called GJ 523b, the exoplanet is about 2.5 times wider than Earth but packs roughly 23 times our planet's mass into that relatively compact size. Worlds this large and dense are sometimes referred to as "mega-Earths," an informal term for unusually massive, predominantly rocky planets. GJ 523b's high density suggests …
Recaptured GJ 523b, orbits its star every 17.75 days and is relatively young, with an estimated age of almost 170 million years. It is about 87 light years away from us
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