Experts have found the new super-Earth-like exoplanet, flying very close to its host star and completing an orbit in just 0.67 days.
The team of Paz Bluhm, an expert from the University of Heidelberg (Germany), discovered the exoplanet TOI-1685 b orbiting the red dwarf TOI-1685, 122 light years from Earth, said Space on March 11. TOI-1685 b only takes 0.67 days to revolutionize the host star.
Red dwarfs are much smaller and paler than the Sun. However, the TOI-1685 b flies extremely close to its host star, so it is very hot. Scientists estimate that the surface temperature of this exoplanet can reach 796 degrees Celsius.
The team found the TOI-1685b using observations from NASA’s Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS is responsible for detecting exoplanets as they pass the host star (from the satellite’s point of view) and changing the brightness.
TESS sees such a light falling into the red dwarf TOI-1685. Bluhm and his colleagues subsequently confirmed that the exoplanet TOI-1685b existed thanks to data collected by the CARMENES telescope of the Calar Alto Observatory telescope (Spain).
The combined data helped the team determine that TOI-1685b was a super-Earth, with a radius 1.7 times that of the blue planet and 3.8 times heavier. With a density of 4.2 grams per cm3, it is a super short orbiting planet orbiting a red dwarf with the smallest densities to date. The density of the Earth is 5.5 grams per cm3.
The TOI-1685b has a high temperature and moves past its host star, so it’s a good target for future research with other tools, the team commented. In this regard, TOI-1685 b is similar to another recently discovered exoplanet from TESS and CARMENES data, Gliese 486 b.
Bluhm and his colleagues also discovered a special signal from CARMENES data suggesting that the TOI-1685 star system may also have a second planet. It completes an orbit in 9 days. If it exists, the planet would not pass in front of the host star because TESS has not recorded any such signal.
