A Rocky Planet With A Surprising Secret

A planet that is far away has surprised scientists. It is called TOI-561 b. It is 280 light-years from Earth. This planet is not like Earth. It is a hot, lava-covered world. Scientists thought it was too small and too hot to have an atmosphere. But new evidence shows it might have one. The James Webb Space Telescope found this evidence. It is a powerful tool for looking at distant planets. The telescope found that TOI-561 b is cooler than expected. This suggests it has a thick layer of gases around it. These gases can absorb and spread heat. This is surprising because the planet is very close to its star. The star's radiation should have stripped away any atmosphere. Scientists think the planet's atmosphere is constantly changing. Gases escape into space. But new gases are also released from the planet's interior. This creates a balance. The planet is also very old. It may have been around since the early days of the Milky Way galaxy. This shows that rocky planets have been forming for a very long time. The discovery challenges what scientists thought about planets like TOI-561 b. They are called ultra-short-period planets. These planets orbit very close to their stars. Scientists thought these planets could not hold onto an atmosphere. But TOI-561 b is proving them wrong. This discovery is important. It shows that planets can have atmospheres in unexpected places. It also shows that the universe has been forming rocky planets for a very long time. This gives scientists more to think about. It makes them question what they know about planets and their atmospheres.