Although it is difficult to find such planets around stars like our Sun, they are easier to detect around ultracool stars. If the star is cooler, the planet must be closer to that star to obtain enough heat for liquid water to exist. If the planet is close enough to the dwarf star, it can be found by a slight change in the color of the star’s light.
The new planet has a heavy core. So heavy that according to current models, a large amount of material would be needed to form such a planet. But this amount was not present this time, because the matter orbiting a light star is much less than that orbiting a heavy star.
This discovery therefore contradicts current theories about planet formation around young stars. Stars form from large clouds of gas and dust. When a star is born, the remaining gas and dust form a rotating disk. Planets form in that disk, which is called the accretion disk.
According to physicists, it is impressive that the disk orbiting such a light star has enough mass to form a planet. According to theories, the dust mass would have to be ten times larger to form such a massive planet. But now that the planet has been discovered, scientists must modify current ideas about planet and star formation, SRON says.
