The planet that shouldn’t exist: astronomers discover a sulfurous hell that breaks all the rules

A group of astronomers from the University of Oxford were astonished to discover a new planet described as “impossible.” The object, identified as L 98-59d, displays a series of unusual characteristics that some researchers say “should not exist.” It was detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, which has already been responsible for a number of major discoveries.

The planet lies 35 light-years from our solar system and is part of a planetary system orbiting a red dwarf star. While that may sound remarkable, it is actually fairly common. What has truly captured astronomers’ attention is its composition.

According to data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope, gases rich in sulfur have been detected in its atmosphere, including compounds such as hydrogen sulfide. This composition is extremely rare among rocky planets identified so far.

An ocean of magma

The scientists leading the research suggest that beneath its surface there may be an ocean of magma, a layer of molten rock that could act as a reservoir of sulfur. They also highlighted the planet’s low density. Despite being 1.6 times the size of Earth, it has a lower density than expected for a rocky world. This contradicts current models, which predict that planets of this size should be denser and have more substantial cores.

Some researchers noted that this alien world should not exist under our current theories, and expressed their surprise at a discovery that may point to a type of planet not yet understood.

Until now, astronomers have been able to classify exoplanets into fairly clear groups, such as large rocky planets, smaller Neptune-like worlds, or gas giants.

However, this object does not fit into any of those categories. This suggests that not all planets follow established models. If confirmed, the finding would imply that many unknown worlds still exist, ones that do not align with current theories of planetary formation and composition.

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