Um planeta semelhante a algodão doce

This cotton candy planet isn't alone; there are other similar planets belonging to 2️⃣ a class scientists facetiously call "puffy Jupiters." The lightest planet ever discovered is the superpuffy Kepler 51d, which is nearly 2️⃣ the size of Jupiter but a hundred times lighter than the gas giant.

Puffy Jupiters have largely been a mystery for 2️⃣ 15 years, said lead study author Khalid Barkaoui. But WASP-193b, because of its size, is an ideal candidate for further 2️⃣ analysis by the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories.

"The planet is so light that it's difficult to think of 2️⃣ an analogous, solid-state material," said Barkaoui, a postdoctoral researcher of Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of 2️⃣ Technology, in a news release. "The reason why it's close to cotton candy is because both are mostly made of 2️⃣ light gases rather than solids. The planet is basically super fluffy."

WASP-193b, which researchers think is made up of mostly hydrogen 2️⃣ and helium, was a huge puzzle for researchers to piece together. Because the exoplanet's density is so light for its 2️⃣ size, calculating its mass became a challenge.