These Strange Worlds Sit At The Boundary Between Planets And Stars

By Jake Parks | August 8, 2018 6:08 pm

Scattered throughout the cosmos, astronomers are uncovering a strange new class of exoplanets too small to be stars, but too big to be planets. They’re called ultra-hot Jupiters.

These incredibly hot gas giants sit much closer to their host stars than Mercury does to the sun, which causes tidal locking. That means the same side of the planet always faces its star. Dayside temperatures can exceed 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,900 Celsius). Nightside temperatures hover around 1,800 F (1,000 C).

And ultra-hot Jupiters also have weird atmospheric characteristics not seen in other types of planets, like an apparent lack of most molecules.

Despite the intriguing nature of these odd, hellish worlds, scientists still know relatively little about them. However, ew research set for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics seeks to change that.

More:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2018/08/08/these-strange-worlds-sit-at-the-boundary-between-planets-and-stars/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20DiscoverBlogs%20%28Discover%20Blogs%29#.W2uxadJKjIU