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Scientists have identified the exoplanet HD 176071 b, an ocean world 335 light-years from Earth, whose mass is half composed of water and is being progressively pulled by its own star’s tidal forces.
The celestial body is approximately 2.5 times the size of Earth and has a mass 8.5 times greater. This proportional relationship indicates to researchers that water comprises almost half of the structural composition of the object.
Classified as a hot water world, this celestial body belongs to a rare group of objects that host substantial amounts of water while orbiting extremely close to their host stars.
Its orbital trajectory around the star is completed in just 14 hours, covering a distance of less than 2.4 million kilometers, which is about 1.6% of the separation between Earth and the Sun.
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Gravitational Interaction and the Neptune Desert
The proximity of the exoplanet HD 176071 b to its star generates intense gravitational interactions. These tidal forces gradually modify the orbit, driving the ocean planet towards an eventual encounter and collision with its host star.
The object’s location is in what is called the Neptune Desert, a region where celestial bodies of this size are rarely observed near stars. Scientists believe that intense stellar radiation often strips planetary atmospheres in areas with such characteristics.
Published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on August 25, the discovery demonstrated that the object does not follow this common pattern. Even under intense radiation, it retains a constantly changing atmosphere with reflective clouds in the cooler regions.
Detection Methods and Analysis of Reflected Light
Most celestial bodies outside the solar system are identified using the transit method. This technique relies on the partial blocking of stellar brightness when an object passes directly between the star and Earth’s viewpoint.
The exoplanet HD 176071 b does not transit in front of its host star, rendering traditional transit measurements unfeasible. To work around this limitation, astronomers analyzed variations in the light reflected by the planet itself throughout its orbit.
The team compared old data from the Kepler Space Telescope with measurements from NASA’s TESS mission, obtained six years later. The verification of captured information revealed an unexpected change in the pattern of reflected light from the celestial body.
Source: Daily Galaxy
