New molten liquid planet class that exists in a permanent, mushy or molten state , scientists announced the identification of an entirely new category of exoplanet in March 2026 , Traditionally, small exoplanets were classified as either rocky “gas dwarfs” with thin hydrogen atmospheres or “water worlds” with deep oceans. This new finding introduces a third category planets dominated by vast, global oceans of magma..
The primary example of this new class is the exoplanet L 98-59 d, located approximately 35 light-years from Earth in the constellation Vela.
Key characteristics of this world include :
- Molten Surface & Interior has a features like a global magma ocean estimated to be thousands of kilometres deep, consisting of molten silicate.
- Extreme Heat found at Surface temperatures which reach nearly 1,900°C, preventing the planet from ever cooling enough to form a solid outer crust.
- Pungent Atmosphere seen from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealed an atmosphere rich in hydrogen sulphide gas, giving the planet a characteristic “rotten egg” smell.
- Size & Density is roughly 1.6 times the size of Earth but has an unusually low density for a rocky planet of its size, which baffled researchers until they modeled its molten interior..
Researchers from the University of Oxford and other international institutions published their findings in Nature Astronomy. This discovery is significant because:
- It challenges the definition of “habitable zones” as planets in areas previously thought to be water-rich may actually be hellish magma worlds.
- Every rocky planet, including Earth and Mars, began as a molten world; studying L 98-59 d allows scientists to “turn back the clock” to understand our own planet’s early history.
- It suggests that the categories currently used to describe small planets are too simple and that the universe is far more diverse than previously assumed.
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