A group of scientists identified a rocky exoplanet in the K2-360 planetary system. It is one of the densest ever discovered. The lead-dense planet contrasts with other extremely gaseous ones, such as Kepler 51. It is presumed that it may be the core of a gaseous planet destroyed by the proximity to its sun.
It is an exoplanet that accumulates 7.7 planet Earth masses in a ball only 1.6 times the size of our planet. It was discovered in 2018. However, little did researchers know that the exoplanet would turn out to be the densest known ultra-short period (USP) super-Earth of its kind.
Super dough
Super-Earths are known to have a mass greater than that of our planet. But they are significantly smaller than that of other gas giants. Having a USP means that a year there is shorter than an Earth day, in this case 21 hours.
The planet’s lead density is about 11 grams per cubic centimeter. Scientists speculate that K2-360 b may be nothing more than the remaining core of a gas giant. Perhaps, this planet flew too close to its sun.
To try to solve the mystery, the team created a model of the interior of super-Earth. They were based on observations of the exoplanet and its host star. Their conclusions are in a study published in Nature. The planet probably has a large iron core that makes up about 48% of its mass.
lava oceans
Furthermore, they suggested that it could actually be the dead core of a once much larger world. He probably resided further away from the star. Over time, it migrated inland. There the intense radiation eliminated the gases from its atmosphere, leaving a solid piece of rock. It is likely covered by oceans of lava.
According to the researchers, clues to this scenario were found in the wobble of the host star. The planet is not alone in the system. Lurking further away is a much larger planet, K2-360 c, probably similar in size and density to Neptune. It is possible that changes in planetary routes could be observed in the future. This would corroborate the scientists’ conclusions.
