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(The Gist of Science Reporter) First Exoplanet of its Kind Found in Neptunian [AUGUST-2019]

First Exoplanet of its Kind Found in Neptunian

ASTRONOMERS have discovered a rare sub-Neptune sized transiting exoplanet which is a 20% smaller than Neptune and about three times the size of the earth orbiting its host star in the harsh conditions of Neptunian Desert.
The planet has been formally named as NGTS-4b, however, due to its rare existence researchers have nicknamed it as the “Forbidden Planet”.
The planet was discovered by using the state-of-the-art Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) observing facility by an international collaboration of astronomers led by the University of Warwick, UK.
The newly found planet is 920 light years away from the earth revolving around the host star in only 1.3 days which is equivalent to the earth’s orbit around the sun in one year.
The planet is 1000 degrees Celsius and hotter than Mercury.
The Forbidden Planet retains its own atmosphere in hellish Neptunian Desert which surprised the astronomers that it’s surviving at such a close distance to its host star.
The planet is the first of its kind found in Neptunian Desert. Neptunian Desert is the region close to the stars where Neptune-sized planets do not exist as planets cannot maintain their gaseous atmosphere and evaporate leaving behind the rocky core due to irradiation from stars.
Despite the conditions of the Neptunian Desert, the NGTS-4b exists which led the researchers to believe that maybe it was formed at some other location but moved into the Neptunian Dessert within the last one million years or the planet was itself bigger and the atmosphere is still in the process of evaporation.