Astronomers have observed a planetary system that challenges current planet formation theories, with a rocky planet that formed beyond the orbits of its gaseous neighbors, possibly after much of the planet-forming material had been used up. This system challenges that by giving us a rocky planet outside of gas-rich planets,” Wilson said. Wilson called it “a system built inside-out.”In our solar system, the four inner planets are rocky and the four outer planets are gaseous. Astronomers have detected about 6,100 planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets, since the 1990s. The two rocky planets are categorized as super-Earths, meaning rocky like Earth but two to 10 times more massive.

Source: The Hindu February 15, 2026 10:23 UTC