Jupiter-Sized Super-Puffs Defy Density, Hint at New Planetary Formation
NASA’s TESS revealed two Jupiter-sized exoplanets orbiting TOI-791, about 1,110 light-years away in the Volans constellation, that are ‘super-puffs’ with densities far lower than cotton candy. They are the lightest known planets for their size, probably hydrogen–helium worlds whose composition will be clarified by Webb Space Telescope follow-up. Formed in gas-rich disks and later stripped down, these rare planets are among fewer than 40 super-puffs out of about 6,300 confirmed exoplanets.