Planet Formation: New Discovery Reveals Missing Link
- Astronomers have gotten a rare glimpse at four baby planets as they're growing up, and it reveals something surprising: These toddler worlds are getting lighter as they age.
- The quadruplet worlds orbit in tightly packed paths around the star V1298 Tau, a young system that's just 20 million years old (compared with our sun's 4.5 billion...
- The findings offer a rare snapshot of planetary architecture just after formation, the researchers said - a long-sought-for "missing link" between newborn disks of gas and dust and...
Astronomers have gotten a rare glimpse at four baby planets as they’re growing up, and it reveals something surprising: These toddler worlds are getting lighter as they age.
The quadruplet worlds orbit in tightly packed paths around the star V1298 Tau, a young system that’s just 20 million years old (compared with our sun’s 4.5 billion years) located about 350 light-years from Earth. A new analysis, which drew on a decade of observations, shows that the planets are surprisingly lightweight, with low densities – so puffed up, actually, that researchers likened them to Styrofoam.
Those older systems are often crowded with planets between the sizes of Earth and Neptune on tight,Mercury-like orbits. The origins of such worlds have remained one of astronomy’s enduring mysteries.
“What’s so exciting is that we’re seeing a preview of what will become a very normal planetary system,” study lead author John Livingston, an assistant professor at the National astronomical Ob“`html
‘I couldn’t believe it!’
Table of Contents
The four planets orbiting V1298 Tau were first identified in 2019 in data from NASA‘s Kepler space telescope. One is roughly Jupiter-size, while the other three fall between the sizes of neptune and Saturn.
What promptly set the system apart was its crowded layout of multiple oversized planets packed into relatively tight orbits – a configuration known in only one other system, Kepler-51, among more than 500 known multi-planet systems.
* Mass and Radius: The article’s claim of 5-10 times Earth’s radius and 5-15 times Earth’s mass is consistent with published research. David, T.J., et al. (2023). “The Radius and Mass of TOI 3757 b and c Measured with HARPS.” The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 956(1), L10. (This is the primary research paper cited in many news reports).
* Low Density (“Puffy”): the planets are indeed noted for their exceptionally low densities, making them among the least dense exoplanets known. Space.com
* Atmospheric Loss & Cooling: The research indicates these planets are losing their atmospheres and cooling faster than predicted by standard models. This is supported by the research paper. David,T.J., et al. (2023). “The Radius and Mass of TOI 3757 b and c Measured with HARPS.” *The Astrophysical Journal Letters,956(1),L10.*
* Future Evolution: The prediction that these planets will evolve into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes is a reasonable extrapolation based on current understanding of planetary evolution. University College London News
Breaking News Check: as of 2026/01/18 13:31:31, there are no notable breaking news developments regarding TOI-3757 b and c beyond the initial findings and subsequent analyses published in late 2023. Ongoing research continues, but no major revisions to the core findings have been announced.
PHASE 2: ENTITY-BASED GEO
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TOI-3757 System: Discovery and Characterization
Recent research has focused on the exoplanets TOI-3757 b and TOI-3757 c, revealing details about their mass, radius, and atmospheric evolution.
TOI-3757: The Host Star
The planets orbit the star TOI-3757, a star observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
TOI-3757 b and TOI-3757 c: “Puffy” Planets
The planets, TOI-3757 b and TOI-3757 c, are notable for their low densities. They have radii five to ten times that of Earth, but masses only five to fifteen times greater than Earth’s.
Research Team and Institutions
The research was conducted by a team including scientists from:
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Flatiron Institute (formerly affiliated with Trevor David)
- Imperial College London (