An international team has identified a Jupiter-sized planet circling a Sun-like star, adding a new entry to the growing catalog of exoplanets that help astronomers refine their understanding of planetary system formation. The group, led by Ioannis Apergis of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, has posted its findings on the arXiv preprint server.
Validating a Candidate with Ground-Based Telescopes
The planet’s initial signal was detected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). To confirm the discovery, researchers relied on an array of twelve ground-based Newtonian telescopes, which provided the additional data needed to rule out false positives and confirm the companion’s planetary nature.
A Closer Look at NGTS-39 b and Its Host
Designated NGTS-39 b, the newly confirmed world has a radius about 1.09 times that of Jupiter and a mass equivalent to 1.47 Jupiter masses. It completes a full orbit around its host star in only 58.2 days and has an estimated effective temperature near 519 K. According to the research team, the planet is believed to be composed predominantly of hydrogen and helium. The system’s central star, NGTS-39, is approximately 16 percent larger and more massive than the Sun, with an estimated age of roughly 2.2 billion years.
Hints of Another Companion
These findings offer fresh observational constraints for models of giant planet evolution. The stellar system may hold yet another surprise, as the data suggest a second exoplanet could be orbiting NGTS-39. At this stage, however, the potential companion can only be flagged as a candidate, and its existence will remain uncertain until follow-up studies can be carried out.
Sources: arxiv.org, unsplash.com