Meet K2-137 b, an ultra-close world orbiting the star K2-137, discovered back in 2017 by the keen eye of the Kepler Space Telescope’s CCD Array. This sizzling planet is so close to its star that a year there blazes by in just a matter of hours! Think of it as a fiery inferno where days are scorchingly short and the surface is likely a molten landscape of extreme heat. K2-137 b was spotted using the transit method, where astronomers noticed the tiny dip in starlight as the planet passed in front of its star. While it’s far beyond our solar neighborhood, its discovery adds a fascinating puzzle piece to our understanding of how planets survive intense stellar heat. A true cosmic hot potato!
