Follow-up observations from James Webb could shed new light on the mysterious exoplanet.
The research team investigating TOI-3757 b calculated its average density as 0.27 grams per cubic centimeter. That means the planet has roughly a quarter the density of water, and it would float if placed in a planet-sized, cosmic bathtub.
Astronomers first observed TOI-3757 b using the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, a program of NSF’s NOIRLab. The researchers determined that the planet is the lowest-density gas giant ever detected around a red dwarf.scientists traditionally believed“Giant planets around red dwarf stars have traditionally been thought to be hard to form,” said Shubham Kanodia, a researcher at Carnegie Institution for Science’s Earth and Planets Laboratory.
“So far this has only been looked at with small samples from Doppler surveys, which typically have found giant planets further away from these red dwarf stars. Until now, we have not had a large enough sample of planets to find close-in gas planets in a robust manner."Astronomers are unsure how TOI-3757 b could have formed with such a low density. One theory is that it has fewer heavy elements in its rocky core compared with other gas giants, like Jupiter.
The planet's slightly elliptical orbit also brings the planet very close to its host star, which may have caused the planet's atmosphere to bloat. This recalls a marshmallow hovering over a campfire, though with an atmosphere and a rocky core — scratch that, they're not very similar at all. “Potential future observations of the atmosphere of this planet using NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope could help shed light on its puffy nature," says Jessica Libby-Roberts, a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University.could allow astronomers to understand better the planet's composition and how it formed in the first place.
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