“Super Puff” is the nickname for a unique and rare class of young exoplanets that have the density of cotton candy. According to the NASA, nothing like them exists in our solar system.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have provided the first clues to the chemistry of two super-puffy planets, which are located in the Kepler 51 system.
This exoplanet system, which actually boasts three super-puffs orbiting a young Sun-like star Kepler 51, was discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope in 2012. However, it wasn’t until 2014 when the low densities of these planets were determined, to the surprise of many.
These young gas giants are comparable in size to Jupiter but have masses that are just a few times greater than that of Earth. That is why their atmospheres having the density of cotton candy, hence the delightful nickname.
Facts
- NASA’s Kepler space telescope detected the shadows of these planets in the Kepler 51 system, a young Sun-like star located about 2,615 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation in 2012–2014 as they passed in front of their star.
- The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) .
- 51 Pegasi b, also called “Dimidium,” was the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a star like our sun. This groundbreaking find in 1995 confirmed planets like Earth could exist elsewhere in the universe. (NASA)
