Recently, an international team of scientists from India, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA discovered a new Jupiter-size exoplanet with the highest density known to this date.

A team of scientists headed by Professor Abhijit Chakraborty of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad discovered the densest alien planet, 13 times the size of Jupiter. PRL scientists have identified this as the third exoplanet.

The NASA published the findings of the study in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters.

Scientists from India, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States used the indigenous PRL Advanced Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search spectrograph (PARAS) at Mt Abu’s Gurushikhar Observatory to precisely determine the planet’s mass. The exoplanet has a mass of 14 g/cm3.

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) had previously identified the star as a possible home for a secondary body of unknown type, and the newly-discovered planet orbits this star.

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Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), reveals this discovery is notable for falling into the transition mass region between massive giant planets and low-mass brown dwarfs.

ISRO stated that these planets have masses ranging from 11 to 16 times that of Jupiter, and the current knowledge is limited to only five exoplanets within this mass range.

The search for life beyond Earth continues, scientists have discovered over 5,000 exoplanets with varying natures, features, and atmospheres beyond the solar system.

The recently discovered exoplanet is one of the most massive and dense giant planets, orbiting its home star at a distance less than one-tenth that of our Sun.

According to ISRO, “the detection of such systems provides valuable insights into the formation, migration, and evolution mechanisms of massive exoplanets”.

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