Astronomers stunned as giant planet challenges what we know about space
Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
A dwarf star birthed a giant planet – but scientists don’t know how
- Astronomers have discovered an unusually large exoplanet orbiting the small star TOI-6894, located 240 light-years away in the constellation Leo, challenging existing planetary formation theories.
- The planet, a gas giant similar in size to Saturn, orbits a red dwarf star that is only about one-fifth the mass of our sun, a pairing that defies current models predicting smaller planets around such stars.
- This discovery marks the smallest-known star to host such a large planet, about 40 per cent smaller than previous record holders.
- Researchers have been left puzzled by the finding, but suggest it indicates that giant planets can form around even the smallest stars.
- Data from Nasa's TESS and the European Southern Observatory's VLT were used in the study, and there are plans to further investigate the planet's composition using the James Webb Space Telescope.