Scientists spot eccentric, backwards-orbiting planet which is turning into 'hot Jupiter'

Scientists have discovered a new planet with the most elongated orbit ever seen in any of the 5,600 planets spotted till now.

The planet stands strangely unique because it appears to be orbiting the wrong way. The planet can help scientists find the missing link between planetary formation.

The planet, which has been given the name TIC 241249530 b, has been seen orbiting a star which was nearly 1,100 light years from Earth.

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It has been observed that the planet has been moving in a highly "eccentric" orbit as it circles its star in a way that it comes extremely close to the star before it slings out and then doubles back in a narrow, elliptical circuit.

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The orbit of the new planet also has a unique "retrograde" orientation. Unlike other planets in the solar system, including Earth, which orbit around the Sun in the same direction, this planet orbits in the direction which is opposite to the direction in which the star is rotating.

Eccentric planet turning into 'hot Jupiter'

The most extreme planets in the galaxy are said to be hot Jupiters, as they are as big as Jupiter and have the characteristic of wildly swinging close to their star. Now, scientists believe that this eccentric planet is also turning into a hot Jupiter.

Assistant professor of physics at MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Sarah Millholland said, "This new planet supports the theory that high eccentricity migration should account for some fraction of hot Jupiters."

"We think that when this planet formed, it would have been a frigid world. And because of the dramatic orbital dynamics, it will become a hot Jupiter in about a billion years, with temperatures of several thousand kelvin. So it's a huge shift from where it started," Millholland said, as reported by phys.org.

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"It's a pretty extreme process in that the changes to the planet's orbit are massive. It's a big dance of orbits that's happening over billions of years, and the planet's just going along for the ride," Millholland added.

The simulations of the planet's evolution and the observations of the team support the theory that hot Jupiters can be formed by high eccentricity migration.

(With inputs from agencies)