(Source: MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology) In the time it takes you to complete a single workday, or get a full night's sleep, a small fireball of a planet 700 light-years away has already completed an entire year. Researchers at MIT have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet named Kepler 78b that whips around its host star in a mere 8.5 hours - one of the shortest orbital periods ever detected. The planet is extremely close to its star - its orbital radius is only about three times the radius of the star - and the scientists have estimated that its surface temperatures may be as high as 3,000 degrees Kelvin, or more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In such a scorching environment,...
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