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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

‘A molten, mushy state’: scientists may have found a new type of liquid planet

An artist’s impression of the L98-59d lava planet
An artist’s impression of the L98-59d lava planet. Photograph: Mark A Garlick/MarkGarlick.com

Astronomers have identified a planet composed of molten lava, suggesting the existence of an entirely new category of liquid planet.

The distant world, known as L98-59d, is about 1.6 times the size of Earth and orbits a small red star 35 light years away. Astronomers initially thought the planet might harbour a deep ocean of liquid water, but the latest analysis suggests that it could be fundamentally different to anything seen before.

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