Fastest-orbiting gas giant discovered, could help study dying planets
Astronomers have just caught TOI-2109b, a giant exoplanet nearly five times Jupiter's mass, spiraling closer and closer to its star—870 light-years from Earth.
What's wild? This "ultra-hot Jupiter" zips around its star in just 16 hours, making it the fastest-orbiting gas giant we know of.
The discovery gives scientists a front-row seat to watch how planets can meet their end.
TOI-2109b could eventually get swallowed by its star
TOI-2109b orbits even closer to its star than Mercury does to our Sun, so it's losing time on its orbit every year—by at least 10 seconds over the next three years.
Researchers think it might eventually get torn apart, lose its atmosphere, or get swallowed by its star.
Keeping an eye on this planet could help us understand how worlds like this evolve and what happens when they spiral into their stars.