天文学家发现了新的“温暖的木星”系外行星

天文学家发现了新的“温暖的木星”系外行星

Astronomers from around the world just confirmed the existence of an entirely new planet. It was first spotted by NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and then confirmed after additional investigation. It’s big, even larger than Jupiter, but unlike our own gas giant, it orbits its host star a much shorter distance.

来自世界各地的天文学家刚刚证实了一颗全新行星的存在。它最初是由NASA的TESS(凌日系外行星勘测卫星)发现的，并在进一步调查后得到证实。它很大，甚至比木星还大，但与我们自己的气体巨星不同，它围绕着它的主恒星运行的距离要短得多。

The new gas giant, now known as TOI-677 b, is thought to be around 23 percent more massive than Jupiter, and it completes an orbit of its star every 11.23 days. That makes it a “warm Jupiter,” rather than a “hot Jupiter,” which is the name given to gas giants that complete an orbit within 10 days.

这颗新的气体巨星，现在被称为TOI-677 b，被认为比木星大23%左右，每11.23天绕其恒星一周。这使它成为一个“温暖的木星”，而不是一个“热木星”，这是一个气体巨行星的名字，它在10天内完成一个轨道。

The host star this new gas giant orbits, TOI-677, is somewhat similar to our own Sun. It’s estimated to be around 18% more massive, with a surface temperature of around 6,300 Kelvin. Our Sun has a surface temperature of around 5,800 Kelvin.

这颗新的气态巨星的主恒星TOI-677的轨道与我们的太阳有些相似。据估计，它的质量要大18%左右，表面温度在6300开尔文左右。我们的太阳表面温度大约是5800开尔文。

When astronomers discover new exoplanets lurking deep in space it’s tempting to imagine the possibilities for extraterrestrial life. In the case of TOI-677 b, it’s not the kind of place we’d ever expect to find life forms of any kind. Based on what scientists know about the distance between TOI-677 b and its star, it’s likely to be piping hot.

当天文学家发现潜伏在太空深处的新系外行星时，人们很容易想象地外生命存在的可能性。以TOI-677 b为例，它不是那种我们期望能找到任何生命形式的地方。根据科学家对TOI-677 b和它的恒星之间距离的了解，它很可能是滚烫的。

The researchers calculated its equilibrium temperature to be approximately 1,252 Kelvin. Equilibrium temperature only takes into account the heat radiating from the star and is based on the distance between the star and any given planet. It doesn’t take into account the makeup of the planet itself or any atmosphere, and since TOI-677 b is a gas giant it’s possible that temperatures within the planet exceed that mark.

研究人员计算出它的平衡温度大约是1252开尔文。平衡温度只考虑从恒星发出的热量，它是基于恒星和任何给定行星之间的距离。它没有考虑到行星本身或任何大气的组成，由于TOI-677 b是一颗气态巨行星，行星内部的温度有可能超过这个标准。

TOI-677 b isn’t the kind of place we’d ever want to visit, but based on the data the team gathered, there may be more than one planet orbiting the same star. It would take additional digging to find out if there’s a second planet hanging out around TOI-677, so we’ll have to wait and see.

TOI-677 b不是我们想去的地方，但是根据团队收集的数据，可能有不止一颗行星围绕着同一颗恒星。要想知道在TOI-677附近是否还有第二颗行星，还需要进一步的挖掘，所以我们只能等着瞧了。