"Discovery: Solid Iron Planet Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star"

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet, Gliese 367 b, made almost entirely of solid iron. The planet, which orbits its star in just 7.7 hours, is twice as dense as Earth and likely the stripped core of a once larger planet. The discovery was made using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the High-Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph. The researchers also found two companion planets in the system, strengthening the idea that ultrashort period planets are often found in systems with multiple planets. The formation of Gliese 367 b remains a mystery, with possibilities including an iron-rich environment, collisional stripping, or the remnant core of a gas giant. Further investigation is needed to understand the formation and migration scenarios of ultrashort period systems.