Scientists have found a "warm" planet with twice the mass of Jupiter orbiting a distant dwarf star. The extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," could be on its way to becoming a so-called "hot Jupiter" by snuggling up to its host star, but only if another planet plays cosmic matchmaker.
With a radius of nearly 1.1 times that of Jupiter and a mass 2.3 times that of the gas giant, this newly discovered exoplanet, designated TOI-4127 b, takes 56.4 days to orbit its host star TOI-4127. The exoplanet's highly eccentric (non-circular) orbit brings it to within around a third of the distance between the Earth and the sun from the star, and its nearly 630 degrees Fahrenheit (332 Celsius) surface temperature means it is classified as a "warm Jupiter."
