Discovered by the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) telescope array at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s infamous Atacama Desert, NGTS-4b is a “forbidden” planet in that it is a Neptune-sized planet with a mass 20 times that of the Earth, it is close to its star, but it still has an atmosphere.
It’s forbidden because it’s the first Neptune-like exoplanet with an atmosphere ever found that is situated in what is known as the Neptunian Desert. That is, the zone where such a world should be stripped of its gases and turned into a ball of rock.
However, by studying the way its host star’s light dips as NGTS-4b passes in front of it, the team was able to determine that it alters the light curve by 0.2 percent instead of the more usual 1 percent, indicating an atmosphere.
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Ripples Nigeria
We are an online newspaper, very passionate about Nigerian politics, business and their leaders. We dig deeper, without borders and without fears.
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Astronomers discover "forbidden" planet orbiting the "Neptunian Desert" - Ripples Nigeria
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