A new category of planet has been discovered: neither rocky nor aquatic.

Given its size, astronomers expected to find yet another rocky or aquatic planet (ocean planet); in reality, they discovered a type of world never before observed by humankind.

Located 35 light-years from Earth, L98-59d, as it has been named, belongs to a category never before seen.

Five researchers published their findings on March 16 in the journal Nature Astronomy, describing a planet composed of liquids, but not water.

One of the authors, Dr. Harrison Nicholls, an astrophysicist at Oxford University, explains that it is composed of molten lava.

The surface temperature is estimated to reach 1900°C, and researchers believe that large waves of molten lava are "probably" sweeping across the planet under the influence of the gravitational forces of nearby celestial bodies.

An environment hardly conducive to life, Harrison Nicholls continues:

To detect the presence of a magma ocean on this planet in the constellation Pisces, the authors used computer simulations. The ocean would extend thousands of kilometers beneath its surface and have existed since its estimated existence 5 billion years ago.

Astronomers have concluded that molten planets could be more numerous than previously thought.

Dr. Harrison Nicholls is ecstatic:

Source : msn.com