Out in Space Lies a Mysterious, Massive Planet That Shouldn't Exist

[Judi Lynn]

Defying our theories of planetary formation, this "forbidden" world orbits a quiet little star.

Monisha Ravisetti
Feb. 24, 2023 2:29 p.m. PT

About 285 light-years from our solar system lies a lovely, minimalist cosmic neighborhood. Its "sun," you might say, is a particularly small, glowing crimson body named TOI-5205 -- a red dwarf. And submerged within the void of space, we've now located exactly one planetary friend of TOI-5205, according to a paper published this week in The Astronomical Journal. Scientists call it TOI-5205b. Yes, that moniker is based on formality, but you must admit it's also kinda cute.

. . .

It's pretty typical for red dwarfs to anchor planets (often several), because these stellar bodies are only about half as hot as the sun and have very low luminosities, yet are known to average extremely long lifespans. Even TOI-5205 is measured to be about 3,500 Kelvin (3,227 degrees Celsius), in contrast to our 5,800 Kelvin (5,526 degrees Celsius) sun. However, there are two peculiar aspects of TOI-5205 and TOI-5205b's companionship.

First off, red dwarfs aren't expected to host gas giant planets -- but that's exactly what TOI-5205b is. Second, and most importantly, sunlike stars in general are usually thought to host planets significantly tinier than themselves.

"The host star, TOI-5205, is just about four times the size of Jupiter, yet it has somehow managed to form a Jupiter-sized planet, which is quite surprising!" Shubham Kanodia, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institute of Science and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Based on our nominal current understanding of planet formation, TOI-5205b should not exist."

More:
https://www.cnet.com/science/space/out-in-space-lies-a-mysterious-massive-planet-that-shouldnt-exist/

[yonder]

1. It's fascinating this can be determined from observations and measurements

[Hekate]

2. KnR

[TexasTowelie]

3. Possibly a rogue planet that was caught into the red dwarf's gravity well?

I'm just thinking outside the box...

[GreenWave]

6. No, you are not thinking out of the box.

Our solar system has way too many objects for its dinky yellow dwarf.

This is most likely from capturing objects when a passing solar system got too close for comfort AND

we may have a brown dwarf (not visible) in an exotic orbit to keep our yellow dwarf company and hold all those critters at bay!

[TexasTowelie]

7. It's not in our solar system--the article says the yellow dwarf is 285 light years away.

I actually have some doubt as to whether a companion star such as a brown dwarf could be in the same solar system as the yellow dwarf. My thoughts behind that are that the orbital time period of the gas giant would vary because of the gravitational effects which wasn't mentioned in the excerpt.

Our thoughts are pretty much in a line with my suggestion of a rogue planet being captured when passing close to the dwarf star rather than an entire solar system. It just seems easier to capture one planet versus an entire solar system.

[Mike Nelson]

4. Hmm...

... I wish humans on Earth would stop fighting and focus on mysteries like this - it's much more productive.

[keithbvadu2]

5. And the myth that bumblebees should not fly.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bumblebees+should+not+fly&rlz=1C1AWUC_enUS1014US1023&oq=bumblebees+not+fly&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0i22i30j0i22i30i625l3j0i10i22i30j0i22i30i625l2j0i390l2.22739j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[sanatanadharma]

8. The Universe will not be confined to the limits of human imagination

"Out in Space Lies a Mysterious, Massive Planet That Shouldn't Exist"

Proof, obviously, that reality is not confined by our limited awareness, understanding, and projections.