Summary:
- The CHEOPS space telescope has discovered a planet that challenges our current understanding of how planets form and evolve.
- The planet, named TOI-849b, is a "super-Earth" - a planet larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune - that orbits its host star in just 18 hours.
- This finding suggests that some super-Earths may start as gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn, but then lose most of their gas, leaving behind a dense, rocky core - a process that was previously thought to be rare.