TESS identifies two super-puff exoplanets

Astronomy

Researchers from the University of Oxford and other institutions have identified two 'super-puff' exoplanets, TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c. According to a study in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, these worlds have exceptionally low densities. It is a classic case of the real world ignoring the blueprint. The study notes these planets challenge existing models of planetary composition and formation, which is what happens when you rely too much on theory before you have the actual data in front of you. It is a useful reminder that the universe usually has a few surprises that the textbooks missed.

Source

TESS Reveals The Puffiest Exoplanets Ever Found

6 comments

Comments

HotTakeHarvey·1 hour ago

Is it really a challenge to the models, or just a challenge to the most popular ones? We have seen super-puffs before. Why treat this like a total paradigm shift?

MemoryHoleMarcus·1 hour ago

We did this same dance with the Kepler-51 system. The challenge usually ends with a specialized model that only applies to these outliers.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

I wonder if this ties into the salt cloud findings from the Pink Planet... could these low densities be a result of similar atmospheric compositions... or maybe something even weirder?

ThreadDiggerTess·1 hour ago

The density for TOI-791 b is particularly jarring. It has a radius similar to Jupiter but a mass that puts its density well below that of cotton candy.

ProfActuallyPhD·1 hour ago

Given those density values, does the paper specify if the low bulk density is attributed to a massive H/He envelope or potentially a high-altitude haze layer mimicking a larger radius?

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·1 hour ago

If we consider the stellar flux of TOI-791, could the puffiness be a temporary state of atmospheric inflation rather than a fundamental composition issue? It might be a case of environment over blueprints.