"Cherry Blossom" Planet Discovered, Glowing Blush-Pink Exoplanet Throws Planet Formation Theory Into Question

A new "cherry-blossom" planet has been discovered.

The magenta planet orbits a young star similar to the Earth's sun, but it's fifty-seven light years away.

The new cherry blossom planet is throwing what scientists think about planetary formation into question.

Astronomers say the massive cherry blossom planet is the only pink planet in the universe-or at least, the only one that's not much more red in color. They theorize that there may be fewer clouds in the planet's atmosphere, lending it its bright magenta hue.

The "cherry blossom" planet is about the size of Jupiter, but four times as massive. It's fairly young, about 160 million years old, and really hot-a whopping 460 degrees Fahrenheit.

Michael McElwain from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said , "If we could travel to this giant planet, we would see a world still glowing with the heat of its formation with a color reminiscent of a dark cherry blossom" in a statement.

The cherry blossom planet is calling into question how planet formation works. Scientists currently think that planets form via colliding asteroids and comets in the ring of gas and debris that form around a young star. The asteroids form the "seed" of a plent, which gradually grows more massive. As it grows, the gravity eventually increases enough to pull gas from the surrounding atmosphere toward it. This theory is known as the core-accretion model.

However, the pink planet's orbit is a whopping nine times wider than Jupiter's-which renders the core-accretion model moot. Scientists are baffled.

Jupiter's orbit around our sun, and at that great distance, the no longer works.

"This is among the hardest planets to explain in a traditional planet framework," Markus Jasnons, a member of the researchers that found the planet, said in a statement from of Princeton University.

"Its discovery implies that we need to seriously consider alternative theories, or perhaps reassess some of the basic assumptions in the core-accretion theory."

The "cherry blossom" planet is also known was GJ 504b, but that's a lot more boring. It's also the least massive planet that's ever been found using direct imaging techniques orbiting a star like our own Sun.

More mysteries need to be explored around the "cherry blossom" planet-and perhaps around planets themselves-but it's an exciting, and visually striking,  discovery.