Astronomers have spotted an exoplanet in a region of space where no planet is supposed to survive. There shouldn’t be any planets with gaseous atmospheres in the so-called Neptunian Desert, but scientists have just found one. NGTS-4b, which they’ve nicknamed the ‘Forbidden’ planet, has a mass of 20 Earths and an average temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius – making it hotter than Mercury. “This planet must be tough - it is right in the zone where we expected Neptune-sized planets could not survive. Once they know where to look, these telescopes can tell us more about what these alien worlds are like.

Source: Forbes May 29, 2019 19:17 UTC