🔎 A New Type of Exoplanet? Exoplanet L 98-59 d (what should we call it for short? Betty?) was first spotted orbiting a star trillions of miles away in 2019. In a recent study, scientists used computer models to pin down its makeup, and it turns out Betty may constitute a new class of planet. Its surface is a scalding 1,500 degrees Celsius. L 98-59 d is neither rocky nor an ocean world. It is likely covered in a mushy magma ocean and smells like rotten eggs from its sulfur-rich atmosphere. The planet is also about 5 billion years old—old enough for scientists to be surprised it hasn’t outgrown this sulfurous phase that typically afflicts planets when they go through a volcanic stage. So far, it’s the first exoplanet found to fit this peculiar description. Why this matters: The first exoplanet was discovered a short 34 years ago, making the field of exoplanetary research still very new. Scientists are hopeful that identifying more categories of planets will help fill in the gaps in ou...