How is the exoplanet TOI-849b, which is Neptune-sized but iron-heavy, sometimes described?
Answer
A "naked core"
TOI-849b, an extraordinary candidate found outside the solar system, presents a major puzzle for planet formation theories because it is roughly the size of Neptune yet possesses a mass suggesting it is almost entirely composed of iron, lacking the expected vast envelopes of hydrogen and helium. Due to this extreme lack of volatiles and overwhelming metallic composition, one established description used for this object is a 'naked core.' This implies that whatever atmosphere or volatile layers it once possessed have been entirely stripped away, or that it formed specifically as just the dense core of what might have been a gas giant.
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