Astronomers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham in England and the University of Nice Côte d'Azur in France studied the densities of exoplanets discovered 1,110 light-years away using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and telescopes.
Scientists found that “TOI-791 b” and “TOI-791 c” are “the largest exoplanets with a density lower than cotton candy.”
The chemical structure of these exoplanets orbiting the star in the Volans constellation is expected to be studied using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Researchers stated that Jupiter is 35 times denser than these planets.
George Dransfield, one of the study's authors, announced that planets of this size are the lightest examples known.
Dransfield explained that these planets, which he believes are white or blue, could be made mostly of hydrogen and helium.
These exoplanets, called “superpuffs,” are less dense than cotton candy and are thought to form around the dense disk of gas and dust surrounding the newborn star.
It is estimated that these exoplanets become lighter over time by shedding the material they carry.
The results of the research were published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”.
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