2023-11-29 17:01:26
The European Space Agency (ESA) has just revealed the existence of a “strange family” of exoplanets orbiting a star relatively close to our planet. As announced this Wednesday by an international team of astronomers in the scientific magazine ‘Nature’, it is six worlds located 100 light years from us, in what we Earthlings know as the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. A couple of years ago, scientists detected a curious change in the brightness of a star located in this region of the cosmos and now, after months of analysis, they have finally been able to relate this phenomenon to the presence of six new worlds beyond our Solar System.
Little do we know about what these mysterious (and newly discovered) planets are really like. The first analyzes suggest that these are worlds smaller than our Neptune that orbit around the star HD110067. Those closest to their star take about nine days to complete a full orbit, while those furthest away take about 54 days (so, technically, this is how long a year would last in these places). Data collected to date by the European CHEOPS telescope also suggests that these could be worlds with large atmospheres y rich in hydrogen.
A space rarity
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One of the most curious facts after this discovery is the curious evolution of this planetary system located just a stone’s throw from our planet (at least, as far as astronomical terms are concerned). The team of astronomers who have led the study of this “rare family” of exoplanets, led by Rafael Luque of the University of Chicago, suggest that these worlds They have practically not changed since their birth at least 4 billion years ago. The study of this space rarity, then, would be a golden opportunity to learn more about sub-Neptunian planets as well as the stars that host them.
The first analyzes suggest that these worlds would go 4,000 million years without experiencing any change
The discovery published this Wednesday is the first of its kind. Experts, in fact, explain that a star of this type that hosts more than four planets in its orbit has never been discovered. In the specific case of the star HD 110067, the six worlds discovered may not be the only ones that swarm around it. In future observations we will try to look for more planets in what is known as ‘temperate zone’ of the star (and where, eventually, extraterrestrial life forms might have emerged). For the moment, in the absence of further analysis, experts are enthusiastically looking towards the study of this enigmatic region of the cosmos.
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