Strangely chonky exoplanet has astronomers puzzled
Who doesn’t love a chonky space mystery? Planet HD 114082 b is the size of Jupiter (a gas giant) and denser than Earth (an iron cored rock). These dimensions and its relatively young age defy some of the current planet formation models.
The planet, called HD 114082 b, is similar in size to Jupiter, but seems to have eight times its mass. It’s common for astronomers to discover gas giants similar to or larger than Jupiter, but it’s very unusual to discover a planet this dense and heavy. “Compared to currently accepted models, HD 114082 b is about two to three times too dense for a young gas giant with only 15 million years of age,” said lead author Olga Zakhozhay in a statement.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
