Waking up to a new year: Exoplanet orbits its star in 8.5 hours
Monday, August 19, 2013 - 12:00
in Astronomy & Space
In the time it takes you to complete a single workday, or get a full night's sleep, a small fireball of a planet 700 light-years away has already completed an entire year. Researchers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet named Kepler 78b that whips around its host star in a mere 8.5 hours -- one of the shortest orbital periods ever detected.