TOI-1685 b is a hot and rocky super-Earth exoplanet, observations find

A world group of astronomers has carried out follow-up observations of a close-by alien world referred to as TOI-1685 b. Results of the observations, revealed Could 21 on the pre-print server arXiv, point out that TOI-1685 b is a scorching and rocky alien world with an Earth-like density.

The so-called “super-Earths” are planets extra huge than Earth however not exceeding the mass of Neptune. Though the time period “super-Earth” refers solely to the mass of the planet, additionally it is utilized by astronomers to explain planets greater than Earth however smaller than the so-called “mini-Neptunes” (with a radius between two to 4 Earth radii).

Found in 2021, TOI-1685 b is an ultra-short-period (USP) super-Earth orbiting an M-dwarf star about half the scale and mass of the sun. The system is positioned some 122.5 light years away.

Earlier observations have discovered that TOI-1685 b orbits its host each 16.5 hours; nonetheless, the bodily properties of this planet stay unsure. Some research have reported that TOI-1685 b is a water world (with a water fraction of round 50%) about 70% bigger than the Earth, whereas others have instructed that it’s a rocky planet with a radius of round 1.46 Earth radii, devoid of any vital water.

To resolve these discrepancies within the knowledge, a gaggle of astronomers led by Jennifer A. Burt of the California Institute of Know-how (Caltech) determined to revisit TOI-1685 b utilizing NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite tv for pc (TESS) and numerous ground-based observing services.

“Right here we embrace a refined stellar classification with a give attention to addressing the host star’s metallicity, an up to date planet radius measurement that features two sectors of TESS knowledge and multi-color photometry from quite a lot of ground-based services, and a extra correct dynamical mass measurement from a mixed CARMENES, IRD, and MAROON-X radial velocity knowledge set,” the researchers defined.

New observations discovered that TOI-1685 b has a radius of roughly 1.47 Earth radii and is about thrice extra huge than the Earth, which yields a density at a degree of 5.3 g/cm³. Subsequently, it signifies that the density of TOI-1685 b is simply 4% lower than the Earth’s bulk density.

The astronomers underline that the similarity to Earth’s density means that TOI-1685 b can be a rocky planet with minimal quantity contributions from any hydrogen or helium ambiance elements. Furthermore, TOI-1685 b was discovered to have a excessive equilibrium temperature—about 1,062 Ok.

Summing up the outcomes, the authors of the paper observe that though they exclude the chance that TOI-1685 b could also be a water world, it may nonetheless have a excessive mean-molecular weight ambiance.

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