Scientists Found Two Giant Planets as Fluffy as Cotton Candy
Quick Summary
Astronomers discovered two giant planets that are super light and fluffy — even less dense than cotton candy! They are called TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c, and they circle a star very far away. They are the biggest “super-puff” planets ever found.
What Happened?
Scientists using NASA’s planet-hunting telescope, called TESS, spotted two unusual planets orbiting a star about 1,110 light-years from Earth. The star sits in a group of stars called Volans, which means “flying fish.”
Both planets are about as big as Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. But here is the amazing part: they weigh almost nothing for their size. Jupiter is about 28 to 35 times denser than these two puffballs. One scientist on the team said they are about as dense as a blob of shaving foam!
Scientists think the planets are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, the two lightest gases. And even though we call them “cotton candy planets,” they probably are not pink. Scientists think they might look white or blue. NASA’s powerful Webb Space Telescope will study them next to learn what they are really made of.
Why Does It Matter?
Out of more than 6,000 planets found outside our solar system, fewer than 40 are super-puffs like these. Finding two around the same star is extra rare. Studying them helps scientists figure out a big puzzle: how do planets form, and why do some puff up like balloons?
Here is something cool for kids: regular people helped find these planets! Volunteers in a project called Planet Hunters looked through telescope data and helped spot them first. You do not have to be a professional scientist to help make discoveries.
Big Words
- Exoplanet — a planet that circles a star other than our Sun.
- Density — how much stuff is packed into a space. A rock is dense; cotton candy is not.
- Light-year — the distance light travels in one year, which is almost 6 trillion miles.
- Constellation — a group of stars that makes a shape or picture in the sky.
- Astronomer — a scientist who studies stars, planets, and space.
Fun Fact
These planets were found by watching the star’s light very carefully. When a planet passes in front of its star, the star gets a tiny bit dimmer — like a bug flying in front of a flashlight. That little blink is how TESS finds new worlds!
Think About It
If you discovered a brand-new planet, what would you name it, and why?
Sources
- Associated Press (via CBS News): “Astronomers find 2 gigantic planets lighter than cotton candy”
- Space.com: “Two ‘super-puff’ cotton candy exoplanets are the lightest gas giants ever discovered”
- Study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (University of Oxford team)