The magnificent gas giant Saturn, distinguished by its elegant ring system, is considered the pearl of the solar system. However, in outer space there was a world that surpassed the beauty of Saturn.
We leave for the constellation Centaurus, where, at a distance of 434 light years, the planet 1SWASP J140747.93-394542.6 b (1SWASP J1407 b) rotates around a young subgiant. She was noticed using the transit method in 2012.
It is interesting to note that, due to its parameters, the exoplanet balances between the status of the gas giant and the brown dwarf (a failed star). Its parent star by massiveness reaches only 90% of the sun, and its age is 16 million years (incredibly young).
Ring System 1SWASP J1407 b through the eyes of an artist
Exoplanet by weight is 20 times greater than Jupiter. But surprisingly luxurious ring system. Even at the first observations of transit, researchers were surprised at the complexity of the light curve. Usually, when a planet overshadows a star, there is a one-time peak reduction in brightness level. But in a particular case, secondary reductions were noted, and the transit time lasted for 56 days, rather than several hours, as happens in standard reviews. Interestingly, this is the first planet with rings, discovered outside the solar system. And she immediately became a champion in scale. The quantity is estimated at 4-30 rings. The radius of the largest ring reaches 0.6 a. E. (90 million km), and the total mass of the rings - 734 * 10 22 kg. For comparison, Saturn's largest ring covers only 480,000 km.
On September 13, 2017, Cassini sent one of the latest shots of the Saturn ring structure.
In addition, there is an assumption that around this gas giant revolves around, which by massiveness reaches 0.8 Earth. It is located at a distance of 61 million km from the planet, where, by its rotation in orbit, it formed a small gap. In general, it is believed that around 10 exoluns can rotate around 1SWASP J1407 b, where two satellites are 28 million kilometers away from the planet.
