Scientists have identified the fastest disintegrating exoplanet to date, BD+05 4868 Ab, located approximately 141 light-years from Earth. This discovery, made possible by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), reveals that the planet is losing mass at an extraordinary rate due to intense bombardment from its host star, BD+05 4868 A.
BD+05 4868 Ab is shedding mass equivalent to that of Earth's Moon every million years, heading towards complete disintegration, marking it as a rare find in the scientific community.
According to a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), BD+05 4868 Ab ranks among the closest disintegrating exoplanets observed. Its unique state offers researchers a rare opportunity to investigate the internal structure of rocky planets as they expel material into space. These insights were detailed during the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Maryland.
Mark E. Hoon, a researcher at MIT and lead of the study, emphasized the significance of this observation, describing the massive dust trails left by the planet, which extend approximately 9 million kilometers and consist of two distinct sections with varying grain sizes.
The transit signal caused by these trails obscures 1% of the star's light and lasts for 15 hours. The research, conducted in collaboration with scientists from Penn State University, aims to deepen understanding of planetary disintegration. Previously, the Penn State team employed similar techniques to study another disintegrating exoplanet, K2-22b.
Jason Wright, an astronomy professor at Penn State, noted that BD+05 4868 Ab presents an exceptional opportunity due to the brightness of its host star, which is 100 times brighter than previously studied disintegrating planets.
Efforts are now underway to utilize the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for more detailed studies of BD+05 4868 Ab, with results poised to shed light on the composition of such planets, providing groundbreaking perspectives on the internal design of exoplanets.