A Peculiar Planet Puzzles Scientists

A planet that looks like a lemon and behaves even stranger has left scientists scratching their heads. This oddball, named PSR J2322–2650b, is not your typical planet.

An Unusual Orbit

• Not orbiting a normal star: Instead, it's circling a pulsar, the leftover core of a dead star.
• Super dense: The pulsar packs the mass of our sun into a tiny space.
• Blasted with gamma rays: The planet is constantly exposed to intense radiation.

Extreme Conditions

• Orbital speed: Completes a full orbit in just 7.8 hours.
• Lemon shape: Stretched due to its closeness to the pulsar.
• Extreme temperatures:
• Night: 650°C
• Day: 2,030°C

Bizarre Atmosphere

• Composition: Made up of carbon and helium.
• Molecular carbon: Something never seen before in any planet's atmosphere.
• No oxygen or nitrogen: Normally, carbon would bond with other atoms at these temperatures.

Formation Mystery

• Not formed like normal planets: Also not the result of stripping a star's outer layers.
• Leading theory: Carbon and oxygen crystallized inside the planet as it cooled, with pure carbon crystals rising to the top and mixing with helium.
• Unanswered question: Why there's no oxygen or nitrogen.

Scientific Excitement

Researchers are excited about this mystery. They're looking forward to learning more about this strange planet and its even stranger atmosphere.