J. Šubjak from Setellar department led the study that primarily announced the discovery of the planet TOI-2458 b. The planet is a mini-neptun and orbits an F-type star. The planet has been detected for the first time as a transiting object, meaning that it passes in front of its parent star during its orbit, causing periodic dips in its brightness. Additional observations from various ground-based instruments have shown that these dips are not due to signal contamination by nearby stars. From the light curve, it was thus possible to determine the planet’s basic properties, such as size and orbital period. Spectroscopic measurements were then used to confirm its mass and other parameters. TOI-2458 b has a mass of about 13.3 times the mass of the Earth, and its radius is about 2.8 times that of the Earth. Its orbit is very close to its parent star, completing one orbit in just 3.74 days. This means it is in a very hot environment that would not be suitable for life as we know it. The authors have made an effort to infer more about the possible nature of the planet itself from the available observations, but the object is in the type boundary region. It may well be a water world as well as a rocky planet with a thin hydrogen atmosphere.
More at ASU web page (in Czech)
Image
A mini-Neptune orbiting an active star at the end of its life as imagined by artificial intelligence. (Image created with Microsoft Copilot.)
More informations
- ASU web: Na čem pracujeme: Objev mini-Neptunu TOI-2458 b nám poskytuje nový náhled na formování planetárních systémů (M. Švanda, ASU)
- J. Šubjak a kol., TOI-2458 b: A mini-Neptune consistent with in situ hot Jupiter formation, Astronomy & Astrophysics v tisku, preprint arXiv:2409.17532
- contact: Dr. Ján Šubjak, jan.subjak@asu.cas.cz
