K2-39b located very close to the parent star.
An international team of astronomers reported the discovery of a new giant exoplanets K2-39b, which orbits the star at such a close distance that it had long been destroyed by tidal forces. Preprint of article published in the archives of scientific articles arXiv.org.
The planet was discovered during the mission the space telescope “Kepler” K2. To determine the orbital parameters K2-39b, astronomers have used a high-precision spectrograph installed on the telescope in the Observatory of La Silla in Chile and the Magellan telescope in the Observatory of Las Campanas and telescope on the island of La Palma. Ground-based instruments, scientists have measured vibrations of the stars caused by the rotation of the exoplanet.
The results showed that K2-39b 50 times bigger and eight times more than the Earth. However, most surprising was the fact that the year on the planet lasts only 4.6 earth days. This period of revolution can only be the case if K2-39b located very close to the parent star, however, it is influenced by destructive tidal forces. Such planets are very rare, and their lifespan is very limited.
Scientists have tried to estimate how long it can hold a planet in such an orbit before being destroyed. Considering the mass of the parent star and assuming that K2-39b will remain on the current orbit, the astronomers determined that the duration of its life will reach 150 million years.
Orbital telescope “Kepler is designed to search for exoplanets — planets orbiting other stars. In 2013, one of the motors of the telescope failed, resulting in lost capacity for the precise orientation of the tool in space. However, the telescope continues to be used in the framework of the K2 mission, aimed at observing the stars in the Ecliptic plane. With the help of “Kepler” was discovered more than three thousand exoplanets.
