The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Transiting Exoplanet Satellite Survey (TESS) has discovered an exoplanet in the Milky Way galaxy. Researchers estimate that it is 10 billion years old, more than twice as old as our sun. The planet called TOI-561b orbits outside our solar system 1.5 times larger than Earth, it has more mass than Earth, but almost the same density. The planet orbits its sun, located in a thick galactic disk, very fast and completes it in about 12 hours.
The discovery of the planet was made public at the 237th meeting of the Astronomical Society of America and was then approved for publication in the Astronomical Journal. The meeting was held almost entirely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study also reports that the surface temperature of the planet reaches 1,726 degrees Celsius making it unfit for human habitation.
According to a report by CNN, the mass, radius and density of the rocky planet were measured with the help of data collected at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii. “TOI-561b is one of the oldest rocky planets yet to be discovered,” University of Hawaii graduate and team leader Lauren Weiss said in a statement. “Its existence shows that the universe has been forming almost rocky planets since its inception 14 billion years ago.”
What makes this ‘Super-Earth’ more interesting is its density, considering its size compared to Earth. However, older planets are less dense due to the small amount of heavy metals found on them. These elements are found on our planet because they were created after the Sun exploded in Supernova and spread these elements into space.
Researchers are also interested in the history of the rocky planet as it may have been possible for it to survive at some point. “While this particular planet is unlikely to be inhabited today, it may be the epitome of many rocky worlds not yet found around the oldest stars in the galaxy. Stephen Lane, lead author of the study at the University of California, Riverside, said.