An eccentric ‘hot Jupiter’, exoplanet HD 80606b, is orbiting very close to its host star, like a comet. When the exoplanet comes close to its star, its temperature rises and reaches an extreme level, found a team of researchers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

While orbiting the star, HD 80606 follows an oblong route instead of a circular path. The hot Jupiter goes away from its host star for more than 111 days. After that, in less than one day, it comes very close to the host star before moving back again. When it comes closer to its host star, the exoplanet gets huge amount of energy from the star. The planet’s side that faces the star while approaching it becomes very hot. Temperature of that side reaches about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, as per the researchers.

“As the planet gets closer to the star, it feels a burst of starlight. The atmosphere becomes a cauldron of chemical reactions and the winds ramp up far beyond hurricane force. It’s global warming gone nuts”, said Greg Laughlin, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics from UC Santa Cruz and an author of the new research. The case has hinted that our universe is not a normal place, Laughlin added.

As per science theories, some hot Jupiters may have an eccentric orbit if they are pushed by a massive object or a nearby planet. In such a situation, an exoplanet settles itself in a tight, circular orbit, as per the theories. But these notations are not fitting well in case of HD 80606 b because the planet is not orbiting as fast as previously thought.

The new research has highlighted the need of more studies to theorize how the universe’s hot Jupiters are formed. It suggested that there could be another mechanism that is still not found.