Indian Scientists Find New Planet, One Year Only 19.5 Days

Indian scientists have discovered an exoplanet or planet outside the Solar System orbiting the Sun-like star.

The planet is about 66 light years from Earth. This planet is named EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b and is 27 times larger than Earth.

The discovery of exoplanets is often the case in the world of astronomy, now there are around 3,786 exoplanets that have been confirmed.

But there are interesting things found on the "new" planet.

Astronom Abhijit Chakraborty from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad who led this research revealed that the planet has unique characteristics.

After observing for 6 months at the Gurushikkar Observatory, Mount Abu, India, the team of scientists estimated that planets orbit seven times closer to their stars.

This means that one year on the planet only lasts about 19.5 days in Earth time.

In addition, an orbit that is too close to this star causes the planet's surface temperature to be very hot, reaching 600 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures that are too hot and dry are certainly not suitable to support life.

These exoplanet findings can help scientists understand the shape of the planet that is located close to its main star.

Not only that, these findings indicate that India now has its own technology and ability to confirm exoplanets.

The findings of these scientists have been published in The Astronomical Journal.