Planets are typically round bodies in space that orbit stars, at least most of the time anyway: We've just gotten our first look at an exoplanet that has been deformed by its star's gravity into a rugby ball-like body.
While it sounds weird as heck, this isn't unexpected -- but it is the first time we've ever actually seen something like this out in the universe. The exoplanet, detected by the ESA's Cheops exoplanet-hunting mission, orbits WASP-103 in the constellation Hercules.
Cheops finds exoplanets by measuring the light of stars and watching for telltale dips in luminosity when a possible exoplanet passes between us and the star. Dips that come at regular, precise intervals are very strong evidence of an exoplanet.
This exoplanet, WASP-103b, is a gas giant about twice the size of Jupiter with 1.5 times its mass. But rather than orbiting out in the farther reaches of its solar system, WASP-103b is what's known as a "hot Jupiter".
These are gas giants that orbit extremely close to their star, often much closer than even Mercury orbits our Sun. As a result, these exoplanets typically orbit their stars much faster than we're used to seeing, but WASP-103b completes an orbit around its star – which is about 1.7 times larger than our sun – in less than a day.
That puts it extremely close to WASP-103; so close, in fact, that the gravity exerted on the star-facing side of the planet is much greater than that exerted on the side facing away from the star.
This difference in gravity, known as tidal force, is stretching the exoplanet out of the typical spheroid shape. We experience something similar with the moon as it produces ocean tides on Earth, hence the name. Until now though, we've never seen these forces actually deform a planet.
The Cheops astronomers managed to detect the deformation thanks to the exoplanet's very rapid orbital period. This gave astronomers plenty of opportunities to take measurements and observe the exoplanet transiting the star, and the data they were seeing in the light curve of the star revealed the planet's unusual shape.
"It’s incredible that Cheops was actually able to reveal this tiny deformation,” Jacques Laskar, of the Paris Observatory, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, and co-author of the study detailing the findings in this week's Astronomy & Astrophysics journal, said in an ESA statement .
“This is the first time such analysis has been made, and we can hope that observing over a longer time interval will strengthen this observation and lead to better knowledge of the planet’s internal structure."
Analysis: why didn't our own Jupiter become 'hot'?
When we first started looking at exoplanets, we expected to see them arranged like they are here in our own solar system, with rocky inner worlds and large gas giants in the outer regions.
We've found a startling number of hot Jupiters though, including the very first exoplanet ever identified around a main-sequence star (i one that wasn't a stellar corpse), Pegasi 51b .
While a majority of gas giant exoplanets we've identified reflect the setup of our own solar system, it does beg the question of what causes a gas giant to quickly migrate into such a close orbit around a star, and what kept the original Jupiter from doing the same.
We don't really know, honestly. That's one of the reasons astronomers are so keen to study exoplanets – it's our best real hope of understanding how our own solar system formed.
The Batman's runtime is nearly as long as Avengers: Endgame
The Batman's runtime has been revealed – and you'll want to grab plenty of snacks and schedule some bathroom breaks, because it's going to be a long movie.
Per The Hollywood Reporter (THR), The Batman will clock in at two hours and 55 minutes. For context, that's only six minutes less the longest MCU movie , aka Avengers: Endgame. It's also 11 minutes longer than the previous record holder for a Batman film – that being Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which ran for two hours and 44 minutes.
According to THR, the upcoming DCEU film 's near three-hour runtime includes eight minutes of end credits, so technically it'll run for two hours and 47 minutes. Even so, it's still the longest Batman film of all time.
Given that the Caped Crusader's latest movie reboot will lean heavily into the detective side of the character, though, we expect more of a slow-burn plot than the frenetic, action-packed Batman films of recent years. Add in the sheer amount of supporting characters in The Batman, too, and the movie will require more minutes to give everyone their due.
With The Batman's March 4 release date fast approaching, the film's marketing campaign has kicked into gear in recent weeks. A new poster, which you can see in the tweet above, was recently released, and we think its tagline may suggest that the tables will be turned heavily on Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight in the film.
Meanwhile, we've also received confirmation on The Batman's age rating and, perhaps disappointingly for some, it won't be R-rated. And, in case you missed it, a new trailer dropped during the 2021 holiday season, with new footage included that made us more excited for its arrival in just over a month's time.
The Batman theme song is music to our ears
The Batman's runtime wasn't the only major reveal that dropped online yesterday (January 20).
The Batman theme, written by award-winning US composer Michael Giacchino (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Up, Lost), has also released in full – and it's a thing of beauty.
If you're interested in listening to the near seven-minute long Batman 2022 theme, you can hear it in full now on YouTube, Spotify, and other music streaming services. Our advice? Stick your best headphones on, sit back and listen to a tune that's sure to be in contention for a plethora of prizes on the 2023 awards circuit.
Fans on Reddit are already comparing Giacchino's orchestral score to Batman: The Animated Series' classic opening number – and you can see why. With its wonderful arrangement of brass, percussion, wind and string instruments, as well as its crescendos and lulls, The Batman theme certainly sounds like it's been inspired by other Batman live-action and animated productions.
Although, as other Reddit users also point out, John Williams' Superman score , the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring Sherlock TV show , and even Clint Eastwood's western back catalog sound like they've influenced the track, too. If all of this doesn't make you want to listen to The Batman theme right away, we don't know what will.
The Batman launches exclusively in theaters on March 4.
Blizzard is making a survival game set in a new franchise
Blizzard has announced that it is working on a brand new franchise, and has shown off a little about the game in a recruiting effort.
The new game is only being referred to as ‘Unannounced Survival Game’ and details remain light. The title, mechanics, and story are not yet clear, beyond it obviously being a survival game.
On its official website , Blizzard revealed a bit more about its title, saying: "Blizzard is embarking on our next quest. We are going on a journey to a whole new universe, home to a brand-new survival game for PC and console. A place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived. A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored.”
Two pieces of artwork accompany the announcement, the most prominent being some kind of ranger with a quasi-futuristic-looking canine helmet. It’s clear the game is meant to be a fantasy title, but it also seems to have smatterings of sci-fi. There is also another image on the announcement page that shows two people from a modern-like setting finding a portal into the fantasy land. That may suggest the franchise features a ‘real world’ representation and will have players passing to the fantasy setting.
The recruitment effort for the game suggests that this title is still some way off, though. The title is looking for key roles such as a Lead Software Engineer, Level Designer, Senior Character Artist and a whole host of other key Art, Design, and Engineering roles. The post itself also references the game being at an “early stage.” Because of that, don’t expect to hear much from the game in the near future.
The new franchise comes at a difficult time
The development of this new franchise is surrounded by many complications and considerations. Chiefly, Blizzard has been the center of heinous accusations and legal action due to an alleged fratboy work culture that led to many women coming out and speaking about their experiences with sexual harassment and discrimination at the company.
It also comes on the heels of Microsoft’s recent proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard . It’s not clear if this will affect the project at all, be it for good or bad, but it’s another moving factor in a troubled time for the company.
However, there are some encouraging signs for the team behind the new franchise. Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, who has proven to have reliable insight into Blizzard recently, shared that he had heard nothing but good things about the team and project. In a tweet, he said:
An ex-Activision Blizzard producer, Stephanie Krutsick, who has campaigned as part of the #ABetterABK hashtag also said under the announcement tweet:
While it’s important to remember this is anecdotal, it seems that signs from inside the company are at least promising in terms of the culture and buzz around the development team behind the title.
Here’s hoping that remains true. Blizzard has a history of taking clunky and tired genres and infusing them with new mainstream life, such as Mobas and Overwatch , World of Warcraft and MMOs, Hearthstone and TCGs. If Blizzard can capture its magic once again, the survival genre seems like the perfect candidate.