Overview
- The Jupiter-mass world orbits its pulsar at roughly a million miles in a 7.8-hour year, with tidal forces stretching it into a pronounced ellipsoidal shape.
- Infrared observations detect molecular carbon (C2 and C3) dominating alongside helium, with little to no oxygen or nitrogen evident in the atmosphere.
- Temperatures span about 1,200°F on the nightside to roughly 3,700°F on the dayside, with analyses indicating soot clouds and conditions that could produce diamond rain.
- Researchers note the system resembles a black widow scenario in which a pulsar strips its companion, yet no known formation pathway fully explains the measured composition.
- The results, published December 16 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, exploit the pulsar’s clean infrared background to deliver an unusually pristine planetary spectrum.