<p>Waking up to a new year! Researchers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet 700 light-years away that whips around its host star in a mere 8.5 hours - one of the shortest orbital periods ever detected.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The fireball of a planet named Kepler 78b is extremely close to its star - its orbital radius is only about three times the radius of the star.<br /><br />Scientists have estimated that its surface temperatures may be more than 2760 degrees Celsius.<br /><br />In such a scorching environment, the top layer of the planet is likely completely melted, creating a massive, roiling ocean of lava, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said.<br /><br />"We've gotten used to planets having orbits of a few days. But we wondered, what about a few hours? Is that even possible? And sure enough, there are some out there," said Josh Winn, an associate professor of physics at MIT, and co-author of the paper.<br /><br />What's most exciting to scientists is that they were able to detect light emitted by the planet - the first time that researchers have been able to do so for an exoplanet as small as Kepler 78b.<br /><br />This light, once analysed with larger telescopes, may give scientists detailed information about the planet's surface composition and reflective properties.<br /><br />Kepler 78b is so close to its star that scientists hope to measure its gravitational influence on the star, researchers said.<br /><br />Such information may be used to measure the planet's mass, which could make Kepler 78b the first Earth-sized planet outside our own solar system whose mass is known.<br /><br />From their measurements of Kepler 78b, the team determined that the planet is about 40 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our Sun.<br /><br />The star around which Kepler 78b orbits is likely relatively young, as it rotates more than twice as fast as the sun — a sign that the star has not had as much time to slow down.<br />While it is about the size of Earth, Kepler 78b is most certainly not habitable, due to its extreme proximity to its host star, researchers said.<br /><br />The researchers reported their discovery in The Astrophysical Journal.</p>
<p>Waking up to a new year! Researchers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet 700 light-years away that whips around its host star in a mere 8.5 hours - one of the shortest orbital periods ever detected.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The fireball of a planet named Kepler 78b is extremely close to its star - its orbital radius is only about three times the radius of the star.<br /><br />Scientists have estimated that its surface temperatures may be more than 2760 degrees Celsius.<br /><br />In such a scorching environment, the top layer of the planet is likely completely melted, creating a massive, roiling ocean of lava, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said.<br /><br />"We've gotten used to planets having orbits of a few days. But we wondered, what about a few hours? Is that even possible? And sure enough, there are some out there," said Josh Winn, an associate professor of physics at MIT, and co-author of the paper.<br /><br />What's most exciting to scientists is that they were able to detect light emitted by the planet - the first time that researchers have been able to do so for an exoplanet as small as Kepler 78b.<br /><br />This light, once analysed with larger telescopes, may give scientists detailed information about the planet's surface composition and reflective properties.<br /><br />Kepler 78b is so close to its star that scientists hope to measure its gravitational influence on the star, researchers said.<br /><br />Such information may be used to measure the planet's mass, which could make Kepler 78b the first Earth-sized planet outside our own solar system whose mass is known.<br /><br />From their measurements of Kepler 78b, the team determined that the planet is about 40 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our Sun.<br /><br />The star around which Kepler 78b orbits is likely relatively young, as it rotates more than twice as fast as the sun — a sign that the star has not had as much time to slow down.<br />While it is about the size of Earth, Kepler 78b is most certainly not habitable, due to its extreme proximity to its host star, researchers said.<br /><br />The researchers reported their discovery in The Astrophysical Journal.</p>