exoplanets transiting two distant stars tagged posts

Artist’s impression of a “hot Jupiter”. Credit: Ricardo Cardoso Reis (CAUP)

Astronomers have detected “hot Jupiter” exoplanets transiting two distant stars. The newly found alien worlds, designated EPIC 229426032 b and EPIC 246067459 b, appear to be larger than it should be according to theoretical models. The finding is reported January 24 in a paper published on arXiv.org. The so-called inflated planets are those that expand in size when their parent stars are at the end of their lives. They have been known to astronomers for almost two decades, but it is still unclear what causes the inflation processes...