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Tengrinews.kz – Astronomers have, for the first time, discovered a giant planet orbiting a very low-mass star. This challenges existing theories of planet formation and opens new horizons in the search for exoplanets. The study was published in Nature Astronomy, according to Gazeta.Ru.
TOI-6894 is a red dwarf whose mass is only 20 percent that of the Sun. Until now, it was believed that such small stars were incapable of forming or sustaining giant planets. However, a team of researchers has proven otherwise: orbiting this tiny star is a planet the size of Saturn with an orbital period of just over three days.
The planet’s signal was first detected by NASA's TESS telescope and later confirmed by ground-based observatories, including the SPECULOOS and TRAPPIST projects. Scientists ruled out all alternative explanations: this is indeed a giant planet with a mass about half that of Saturn.
TOI-6894 is now the smallest star ever known to host a giant planet. This discovery casts doubt on current planet formation models, which suggest that stars like this simply shouldn’t have enough material in their protoplanetary disks to form such massive bodies.
“Our models currently cannot explain such objects. Perhaps we are underestimating the diversity of planet formation mechanisms,” the study authors stated.
