This super-Earth really is cool. It is the densest in its class
Being a super-Earth does not always mean that the discovered planet is super in the ordinary sense of the word. This time, however, researchers boasted about a discovery that cannot be denied as unique. It has an exceptionally high density.
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Super-Earths are objects that are located outside the solar system, but, like our home, they are rocky planets, although larger than us. Researchers also included K2-360 b, which is located approximately 764 light-years away from us.. The star it orbits has a similar mass to our Sun. But with all this, this super-Earth is also super dense, like lead.
Extraordinary density
Although K2-360 b is not much larger than Earth – its size is only 1.6 times greater than our planet, its mass is already 7.7 times greater. Effect? Extremely high density, which is approximately 11 grams per cubic centimeter. With this conversion factor, a liter bottle with its contents would have to weigh 11 kg. K2-360 b thus entered the history of astronomy as the densest known planet in its class of ultrashort-period super-Earths. It is also one of the densest of all known exoplanets.
What’s the deal with this planet class? We are talking about planets with a very short orbital period, i.e. the time needed to orbit their star. In the case of K2-360 b, it takes only 21 hours – that is, 3 hours less than the Earth needs to rotate around its axis, not to mention orbiting the sun. However, due to its very close proximity to the super-Earth star, there is unlikely to be a chance for life to exist there. However, scientists have a theory about where K2-360 b came from and why it is so dense.
“Girlfriend”
To do this, special models of the object were prepared based on observations of the planet and the star it orbits. On this basis, it was concluded, among other things, that the super-Earth probably has a large core, consisting of iron, constituting almost half of its mass. According to researchers, it may be the dead core of a world that in the past could have been much larger and more distant from its star. However, it is very possible that the second planet found in this system, K2-360 c, could have pushed our friend closer to their sun. As a result, the intense radiation stripped the super-Earth of gases from its atmosphere, leaving only a piece of rock covered, probably by oceans of lava.
It was probably not a pleasant process for K2-360 b itself, but thanks to it we have the opportunity to admire another unique specimen discovered in space.
