A new exoplanet we have identified has impressed scientists with its unusual features. GJ 367b is quite close to us on a cosmic scale, just 31 light-years away, and is one of the smallest exoplanets we have ever discovered. It is slightly larger than Mars, but at the same time it is one of the densest planets we have found, since its composition is 86% iron.
By measuring its radius and mass, GJ 367b is categorized as a rocky planet. It seems to have similarities with Mercury. That puts it on the rocky planets smaller than Earth and takes research one step ahead of the search for a “second Earth,” said Kristine Lam, an astronomer at the Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center.
Even more impressive is the distance of GJ 367b from the star of the red dwarf category with half the mass of our Sun. The exoplanet is tidal locked with one side permanently facing the star, resulting in surface temperatures reaching 1,500 degrees Celsius, while a rotation around the star, the completion of a year, lasts only 8 hours.
The research was published in Science.
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