NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has detected new extrasolar planets. The two works were labeled as TOI-5152 b and TOI-5153 b.
These extrasolar planets are said to be three times bigger than Jupiter, the biggest planet in the solar system.
The detection was part of TESS' survey of 200,000 of the brightest stars near the sun with the goal of searching for transiting exoplanets. So far, it has identified over 5,7000 candidate exoplanets, and 227 have been confirmed.
A group of astronomers confirmed the two Tess Objects of Interest (TOI) planets. The report stated that transit signals had been identified in the light curves of two stars-the TOI-5152 b and TOI-5153 b. The nature of their signals was confirmed by follow-up observations, according to PhysOrg.
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The Two New Extrasolar Planets
The TOI-5152 b has a radius of 1.07 Jupiter radii and is three times bigger than Jupiter. It orbits its parent star every 54.19 days and at a distance of some 0.31 AU from it. Its equilibrium temperature measures 688K.
Its host, the TOI-5152, is a G1-type star that is almost two times bigger than the sun, about 1,2000 light years away from the Earth. It is estimated to be between 1.4 and 6.8 billion years.
On the other hand, the TOI-5153 b has a mass of 3.26 Jupiter masses with 1.06 Jupiter radii. Its orbital period is 20.33 days, and its distance from its host is almost 0.16 AU. The equilibrium temperature is at level 906 K, and its parent star is of spectral type F8. It's 40 percent bigger than the sun and is believed to be 5.4 billion years old.
With that, TOI-5152 b and TOI-5153 b are warm and massive worlds that are similar to the size of Jupiter. It is noted that it is rich with metal and heavy element content that is consistent with the mass-metallicity relation of gas giants.
The astronomers believe that these two planets are valuable targets for follow-up studies of the planetary atmosphere and measurement of the spin-orbit angle.
Transiting exoplanets are those planets that pass in front of their star. This is one of the methods used by astronomers to study the planets, including their size and temperature.
Extrasolar planets are planets that are not found in the solar system but are found in other star system. Extrasolar planets are in most cases discovered by the transit method.
The transit method is a method used by astronomers to detect and measure the spectral properties of extrasolar planets. If the exoplanetary object passes between the telescope and the observer, the path of the light of the star is blocked, and dimmings of the star from the blockage may be detected.
Related Article: MIT Astronomers Discover a 'Multi-Planet' System, With 2 Earths Existing-Based on TESS Data
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Written by April Fowell
