Astronomers discover a new earth like planet; the only problem is it's lava atmosphere

Astronomers have discovered a sizzling new member in a planetary family about 400 million years old. Meet HD 63433 d, a scorching Earth sized exoplanet that's breaking all the rules in its orbital dance around a Sun sized star, HD 63433. Picture this: a small object, almost like a sunlit speck, gracefully transiting across the expansive face of its star.

That caught the astronomers' attention, and upon closer investigation, they were in for a celestial surprise an extra hot and Earth sized planet, HD 63433 d. This newfound exoplanet is a cosmic oddball with a unique feature known as tidal locking. It's like having a never ending day on one side, always facing its star, while the other side remains shrouded in perpetual darkness.

Imagine a planet where one half is bathed in eternal sunlight while the other side is a never ending night. The celestial detectives, armed with NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), were already familiar with this stellar neighborhood, knowing of two planets in the system. But curiosity got the better of them, prompting a deeper investigation to unveil any hidden surprises.

By carefully sifting through TESS data and skillfully subtracting the signals from the known planets, they stumbled upon a tiny transit that repeated every 4.2 days. Voila! A third, smaller planet, HD 63433 d, was revealed. Yes, the lava hemisphere is hot HD 63433 d, despite being roughly Earth sized, is a youngster in the cosmic sense, clocking in at around 400 million years old.

To put it in perspective, our home planet is 4.5 billion years old. This celestial tot is also eight times closer to its star than Mercury is to our Sun, resulting in a blazing 2,294°F (1,257°C) on its sunlit side. Here's where it gets interesting scientists suspect that the planet's sunlit side might be a "lava hemisphere," akin to the scorching conditions found on other lava worlds like CoRoT 7 b and Kepler 10 b.

Despite its youth, HD 63433 d is not entirely out of reach for scientific exploration. In fact, it could provide crucial insights into the formation and evolution of planets. Researchers are eager to dive deeper, not just into the blazing temperatures on the dayside but also into the mysterious "dark side" of this fiery world.

The discovery, soon to be discussed at the 2024 American Astronomical Society Meeting, comes courtesy of the TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME) project. Led by co authors Benjamin Capistrant and Melinda Soares Furtado, the study delves into the peculiarities of HD 63433 d and its stellar neighborhood.

In a universe filled with surprises, HD 63433 d stands out as a remarkable celestial oddity, inviting scientists to unravel its secrets and rewrite the cosmic narrative. This.