About 280 light-years from Earth, a world of molten magma orbits one of the oldest stars in the galaxy. This exoplanet, 50% larger than the Earth, whips around its star at a breathtaking clip. Racing in tight circles 100 times closer to its star than the Earth maintains from the Sun, TOI-561 b burns with scorching surface temperatures over 2,000 Celsius (3,630 F). This is roughly twice as hot as molten lava on Earth, and is even hotter than magma studied inside laboratories. This proximity to TOI-561 further results in an ultra-short-period orbit, circling its 10-billion-year-old stellar parent once every 12 hours. “For every…
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