Cosmic Oddities: NASA’s TESS Uncovers Rare “Cotton Candy” Exoplanets

In the vast expanse of our galaxy, astronomers have stumbled upon a celestial anomaly that defies conventional planetary models. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has identified a pair of “super-puff” worlds that possess the physical dimensions of gas giants but the ethereal, lightweight consistency of spun sugar.

A Study in Extreme Low Density

The discovery, spearheaded by George Dansfield of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, highlights two distinct exoplanets orbiting the same star: TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c. Their physical characteristics are staggering:

* TOI-791 b: Roughly equivalent to Jupiter in diameter, yet it retains a mere 3% of the gas giant’s total mass.
* TOI-791 c: Surpasses Jupiter in size, but accounts for only 5.9% of its mass.

These figures place these worlds in an elite, highly unusual category of “super-puffy” planets. While gas giants are typically dense, these two entities are so diffuse that their composition is often compared to cotton candy-a stark contrast to the solid, heavy planets we are accustomed to in our own solar system.

Why This Discovery Matters

Finding even one of these low-density giants is a significant event