Mysterious Massive Neptune-sized Exoplanet Baffles Astronomers

Using NASA's TESS, astronomers have discovered a dense Neptune-sized exoplanet called TOI-332 b. It has a radius of 3.2 Earth radii and a mass of 57.2 Earth masses, making it one of the densest Neptune-sized planets known. TOI-332 b orbits its host star every 18.65 hours at a distance of 0.016 AU. It belongs to the "Neptunian desert," a region where such planets are rarely found. The planet's interior structure is likely dominated by refractory materials, challenging current theories of planet formation.