Open in app

Sign in

Write

Sign in

Marshmallow Gas Giant Found at Red Dwarf Star

An exoplanet found orbiting a red dwarf star turns out to have the density of a marshmallow, surprising researchers who didn’t expect a planet with an atmosphere that close to an active star.

Beth Johnson

--

IMAGE: A gas giant exoplanet [right] with the density of a marshmallow has been detected in orbit around a cool red dwarf star [left] by the NASA-funded NEID radial-velocity instrument on the 3.5-meter WIYN Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. The planet, named TOI-3757 b, is the fluffiest gas giant planet ever discovered around this type of star. CREDIT: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani

--

--

Beth Johnson

Written by Beth Johnson

352 Followers

Planetary scientist, podcast host. Communication specialist for SETI Institute and Planetary Science Institute. Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/planetarypan