Khaberni - Astronomers have unveiled a distant planet that seems to belong to an entirely new class of liquid planets, according to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The planet known as L98-59d is located about 35 light-years from Earth and is about 1.6 times the size of Earth, orbiting a small red star.
Initially, scientists believed that the planet might contain an ocean of liquid water, but recent analyses have shown that its condition is radically different from any previously known planet.
Dr. Harrison Nichols, an astronomer at Oxford University, says: "The whole situation resembles a molten mixture, and it's likely that the planet's core is also molten."
The surface temperatures of the planet reach about 1,900 degrees Celsius, and huge waves are generated in a volcanic lava ocean due to the tidal forces of neighboring planets, while the atmosphere is filled with a strong sulfuric smell due to hydrogen sulfide gas. These conditions make the planet unsuitable for life as we know it.
Scientists rely on the James Webb Space Telescope to measure gases in the planet's atmosphere by analyzing the light of stars passing through it.
Observations have revealed that the atmosphere of L98-59d is rich in sulfur, which does not align with the classification of the planet as rock or water, the two traditional categories for similar-sized planets.
Using advanced computer simulation, researchers reconstructed the planet's history from its formation to the present and discovered the existence of a global ocean of volcanic lava extending thousands of kilometers beneath the surface, and possibly a molten core.
Nichols explains: "This planet can only be explained if it contains this deep ocean, which retains gases from physical processes that might remove them."
The findings suggest that molten planets may be more common than previously thought, and that some planets located in what is called the "habitable zone" may not be practically suitable for life.
