Astronomers have discovered a new exoplanet the size of Neptune

Astronomers have discovered a new exoplanet whose physical properties are difficult to explain using current theories of planet formation. It is called TOI-332b. This was reported by Science Alert.

It has been mentioned that so far, humanity has discovered and confirmed the existence of more than 5,500 exoplanets. Their properties, such as the radius or distance to the star, are generally common. But sometimes there are rare events.

One of the places of such rare phenomena is called the Neptune Desert – a region near a star where there are no planets the size of Neptune. But there are a small number of exoplanets located right here.

The recently discovered TOI-332b, orbiting an orange dwarf star 727 light years away, fits that description exactly.

Measurements of its influence on the light of its star show that it has a radius 3.2 times that of Earth (Neptune’s radius is 3.88 Earth radii) and orbits the star once every 18.72 hours.

These properties alone would make TOI-332b an object of interest, but there is more. Gravitational influence allows astronomers to measure the exoplanet’s mass. It is 57.2 Earth masses. Neptune – 17.15 Earth masses.

This means that TOI-332b has a mass density of 9.6 grams per cubic centimeter. It is one of the densest Neptune exoplanet masses ever found. Neptune itself has a density of 1.64 grams per cubic centimeter. Soil – 5.51 grams.

The simulations also show that the exoplanet has a large, dense iron core with a rocky mantle and a thin layer of helium and hydrogen. But there is no atmosphere like Jupiter.

It was previously reported that the James Webb telescope provided an image of the spiral galaxy M51, known as “Vyr”.