Astronomers discovered a new exoplanet with the strangest orbit ever observed where the planet is currently moving in an odd ellipse shape which spans a massive path far away from its host star but as it approaches its star, it quickly goes around behind it, moving fast like a comet.
According to astronomer Stephen Kane from the San Francisco State University, this planet known as HD 20782 is about 117 light years away, where Kane and his team first detected this world where it made a distinct light signal when it transited or passed by its star.
In this new study, researchers discovered that HD 20782 revealed the most elliptical orbit ever measured resulting in an eccentricity rating of .96. This would mean that this alien world is moving similar to a flat ellipse, causing a high speed and highly energetic orbit that serves as a "slingshot" when the planet makes it closest approach to its star.
Scientists say that this new exoplanet is a good opportunity for further observation not only because of its most eccentric orbit, but this planet also possesses a unique atmosphere that is not yet seen in our solar system. After monitoring the light reflection originating from HD 20782, the team conducted further analyses of the atmospheric structure and composition of the planet and how it survives its closest encounter with its sun during orbit.
To provide a clearer idea about the orbit of HD 20782, during its most distant point, the exoplanet is 2.5 times far as the Earth is far from the sun. On its closest approach to its star, the exoplanet is so near to its sun that it is closer than Mercury to our sun, at about .06 times Earth-sun distance of this planet from its star.
The team has been working on the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey (TERMS) which aims to detect exoplanets when they transit or pass in front of their host stars, blocking the light towards Earth. Kane adds that this exoplanet is apparently so huge that it is similar to the size of Jupiter but it travels so fast that it can swing by its star like a comet due to its highly eccentric orbit.
Light data was collected from HD 20782 using space telescopes as the exoplanet made its closest approach to its sun, leading to observable changes in reflected light bouncing off its atmosphere. Kane explains that when this planet gets to the closest point near its sun, it can be "flash heated" by its star.
This means that when a large exoplanet is moving too close to its star, the ice particles in its atmosphere would render no effect and in the case of HD 20782, the atmosphere of this planets did not have any chance to respond, Kane adds.
This means that the planet swings by its star so fast, that there is no time to remove all these icy materials that make the atmosphere so reflective. The team also believes that the exoplanet's atmosphere could be similar to Jupiter's which has a highly reflective cloud cover.
This new study is published in The Astrophysical Journal.