13 times larger than Jupiter: NASA scientists discover exoplanet in a zone where life is impossible
Kyiv • UNN
NASA scientists, using the TESS satellite and the James Webb Space Telescope, have discovered exoplanet WD 1856+534b, which is larger than Jupiter and located in a "forbidden zone" around a dying star. This planet, 5.8 billion years old, is located 82 light-years from Earth and is the coldest exoplanet ever directly observed.
NASA scientists have discovered an object in space that has caused concern among astronomers. It is located in an extremely cold region where life is impossible, far from a habitable star, in complete isolation light-years away from other bodies, and orbits an object that will soon turn into a "dead" one. This is reported by Ecoportal, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that thanks to the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a new exoplanet larger than Jupiter has been discovered.
It was found in the so-called "forbidden zone" around a dying star, where planets usually do not survive. The object was named WD 1856+534, it is about 5.8 billion years old and is only 82 light-years away from us in the constellation Draco.
Using the James Webb Telescope, scientists confirmed that WD 1856+534b is a planet that is where it shouldn't be, like a hidden planet in our solar system.
Mostly, when stars similar to the Sun run out of fuel, they swell to the size of red giants, destroy everything that is too close, and then shrink into white dwarfs. Everything located within two astronomical units - the so-called "forbidden zone" - usually dies. However, this planet has still survived there.
How did the James Webb Telescope discover the planet?
The telescope's data recorded the faint glow of the planet after astronomers carefully removed the star's light. The results of the study indicate that its mass is approximately 13.8 times that of Jupiter, and its surface temperature is -87 degrees Celsius.
"This makes it the coldest exoplanet ever directly observed. So how did it survive? Probably not. Astronomers believe it formed further out and was later pulled into the forbidden zone, possibly pushed by another planet or a nearby star after the white dwarf stabilized," Ecoportal writes.
Recall
NASA plans a ten-day crewed lunar expedition around the Moon in February 2026, which will be the first such flight in 50 years. The Artemis II mission will test the rocket and spacecraft systems, flying a record distance beyond the Moon's orbit.