researcher from MIT have located a lava - filled world about 700 light - year by that ’s 40 prison term near to its genius than Mercury is to our Dominicus . It ’s consider one of the shortest orbital periods known to skill .
Kepler 78b is a planet that spins around its sun every 8.5 hours . Its orbital radius is derisory — a mere three times the radius of the whizz itself — and its surface temperature could be as high as 3,000 degress Kelvin ( 5,000 stage Fahrenheit ) . after , the top stratum of Kepler 78b is credibly totally melted , creating one bragging swooshing sea of lava .
Needless to say , this is not a habitable globe .
Illustration by Ron Miller
Kepler 78b is so close to its Sunday that astronomers will hear to measure its gravitational influence on the star .
Previously , astronomers have watch over KOI 1843.03 , another exoplanet that features an orbital period of 4.25 60 minutes . It ’s about half the size of it of Earth . stargazer speculate that , in order for it to maintain its extremely tight orbit , it has to be fabulously dense , probably made out of iron . Otherwise , the tidal forces would rive it to scintilla .
Read the entire paper at The Astrophysical Journal : “ Transits and Occultations of an Earth - sized major planet in an 8.5 60 minutes Orbit . ”
Top Image : Cristina Sanchis
AstronomyScienceSpace
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