Stellar activity may be making some mega-Earths look heavier than they are

A new study posted to arXiv suggests that stellar activity can mimic the signal of a much heavier planet. Some rocky planets reported to weigh more than 10 Earths may not be as massive as they appear, with their apparent heft being an illusion caused by the star's own activity. This matters because it challenges how we identify and characterize the most massive rocky planets.

What other exoplanet discoveries do you think could be reinterpreted by accounting for stellar activity?

#exoplanets #megaearths #astronomy #stellaractivity