Discovered the strangest planet in our galaxy! It has the shape of a lemon, and real diamonds fall from the sky!

The Jupiter-mass object, officially named PSR J2322-2650b, has an atmosphere never seen before, and its very existence calls into question all known theories of planet formation.

The discovery is so unusual that scientists were completely taken aback at first.

​- It was an absolute surprise – said study co-author Peter Gao from the Carnegie Institute.

– I remember that our collective reaction, after receiving the information, was: ‘What the hell is this?’. It is extremely different from what we expected.

Bizarre world

This bizarre world revolves around pulsars, a type of rapidly rotating neutron star. Riječ is about incredibly dense stellar cores left after a supernova explosion, containing the mass of our Sun in a body the size of a city. This pulsar emits beams of radiation at regular intervals, like a cosmic beacon. However, the radiation it emits consists mostly of gamma rays and other high-energy particles, which makes it invisible to the infrared instruments of the Webb telescope. That flaw turned out to be an incredible advantage. Since the telescope does not see the blinding light of the star, it can study the planet unhindered.

– This system is unique because we can see a planet illuminated by its star, without seeing the star itself at all – explained Maya Beleznay, PhD student at Stanford University.

– This way we get an incredibly clear spectrum and can study it in more detail than ordinary exoplanets.

Clouds of čađ and rain of diamonds

Analyzing that same spectrum, the team was shocked. Instead of the expected molecules like water, methane or carbon dioxide, they discovered an atmosphere dominated by helium and molecular carbon. This has never been seen before.

Molecular carbon is extremely rare because at high temperatures, which on this planet reach up to 2000 degrees Celsius, it is usually combined with other elements. Its presence suggests that oxygen and nitrogen are almost absent.

Such a bizarre composition implies an equally bizarre time. Scientists assume that clouds of čađe float through the atmosphere. Deep inside the planet, under immense pressure, these clouds of carbon could condense and form a rain of real diamonds.

The planet PSR J2322-2650b is extremely close to its star, at a distance of only 1.6 million kilometers, which is almost a hundred times closer than Earth is to the Sun. Because of this incredible proximity, one year on it lasts only 7.8 hours. The intense gravity of the massive pulsar is growing this Jupiter-mass planet into an elongated, almost grotesque lemon or rugby ball shape.

A riddle that no one can solve

Everything about this planet is a mystery, and the biggest of all is how it came to be. Its composition excludes all known mechanisms of planet formation. One of the ideas was that it was a so-called “black widow” system, in which the pulsar slowly “penetrates” material from its smaller stellar companion. However, such processes do not create the same carbon.

​- Did this thing form like a normal planet? No, because the composition is completely different – said Michael Zhang from the University of Chicago, the chief researcher. studies.

– Was it formed by ‘peeling’ the outer part of the star, like black widow systems? Probably not, because nuclear physics doesn’t create čthe same carbon. It is very difficult to imagine how such a composition is obtained.

For now, PSR J2322-2650b remains a fascinating puzzle that could represent an entirely new class of space objects.

​- It’s nice not to know everything – concluded study co-author Roger Romani.

– I am looking forward to learning more about the unusualness of this atmosphere. It’s great to have a puzzle to solve.