LHS 3844 b is a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting an M-type star.
Astronomers have finally confirmed the existence of a strange alien world tidally locked to the star. This means that one side of the Earth is always blessed with sunlight and the other side is in eternal darkness. This is the first time scientists have been able to confirm this phenomenon on an exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system.
The research of the astronomer team is Astrophysical Journal, The planet, called LHS 3844b or Quaqua, is too close to its star to support life as we know it. But the discovery is important because it confirms that tidally-locked exoplanets may exist and may even be common in our galaxy.
Tidal locking is a phenomenon found in our solar system and moon. The moon's rotation is slowed by the Earth's gravity, so it always faces the same side towards the Earth.
Exoplanets closer to their star experience stronger gravitational forces and are therefore more likely to have tidal forces locked in. By studying Kuaqua's temperature, scientists were able to determine that Kuaqua is tidally locked.
The researchers developed a model of an exoplanet without an atmosphere and compared it to observations of Quaqua by the Spitzer Space Telescope. If the planet were not tidally locked, it would be heated by the star's constant gravitational pull. However, researchers have discovered that this doesn't happen because Quaqua is too cool.
This suggests that Quaqua is tidally locked, always showing the same aspect to its star. More powerful telescopes are needed to confirm this discovery, but this is the best evidence yet that some exoplanets are locked to their stars.
