Professor Abhijit Chakraborty and his team of scientists at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, have made an exciting discovery: they have identified the densest alien planet known to date, which is approximately 13 times larger than Jupiter.
This marks the third exoplanet discovery by PRL scientists.
The collaborative effort involved researchers from India, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.
They utilized the PRL Advanced Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search spectrograph (PARAS), a homegrown technology, at the Gurushikhar Observatory in Mt. Abu to precisely measure the planet's mass. The newly discovered exoplanet exhibits a density of 14 g/cm3.
This groundbreaking technology has enabled the team to make significant astronomical breakthroughs. The exoplanets were found orbiting a sub-giant F-type star known as TOI-4603, which was observed using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
This particular exoplanet, referred to as TOI 4603b or HD 245134b, is considered one of the few known massive giant planets with extremely high density. Its mass falls within the transition range between massive giant planets and low-mass brown dwarfs, making it a valuable addition to the limited population of objects in this mass range.
