Carbon-Helium Whirly-Gig Pulsar World

[Cray]

PSR J2322-2650b is a Jupiter-sized gas giant orbiting a pulsar at a distance of only 1 million miles in 8 hours.

"The planet's equatorial diameter is about 38% greater than its polar diameter. ... The planet is devoid of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, elements common on other planets, including gas giants. Instead it is made mostly of helium and molecular carbon. Its carbon atmosphere might give it clouds made out of graphite ... Bands of storms would trace the world's lemon-like exterior in the shape of a W, while it most likely has a red color because of dust and soot-like particles formed by the carbon."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/scien...=url-share

[stevebowers]

Here's a free article about this planet
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/n...planation/

Due to the severe gravitational gradient, this planet is probably highly prolate, and the cloud patterns are no doubt spectacular.

[stevebowers]

Video here;
https://youtu.be/oBf1GFkFjdc?si=SHAt_itk8_YeVWrY

The apparent enrichment of carbon at the expense of oxygen is an intriguing puzzle, too.

[Drashner1]

So, a bit of quick googling turns up that this place is 'only' about 750 ly from Sol (although there is a significant fudge factor in that estimate apparently). Even with the fudge factor, it is well inside the Terragen Sphere.

I wonder what the Terragens might do with/to it?

Thoughts?

Todd

[stevebowers]

This pulsar seems to be in the constellation Sculptor, nearly due galactic south of Sol; in a volume we normally associate with the Communion of Worlds. It might be a Communion system, or it might have been commandeered by a different faction, such as the Diamond Network (who have some territory south of the galactic plane).

[stevebowers]

A version of this planet I've made. The blue brightness of the pulsar (about a million km away) would wash out most of the planet's colour and intrinsic heat emission, but not all.
   

This hot planet would be a challenging location for anything except hi-temperature technology. But the fierce emissions and magnetic field of the pulsar would be a useful source of energy and other resources.

[Cray]

Here's a free article about this planet
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/n...planation/

Drat. I thought the gift article might stay viewable to all. Thanks for digging up the freebie, and the video.

[stevebowers]

I was explaining to my daughter that this elongation is caused by the same tidal effect that causes 'spaghettification' near a black hole, but it is not as extreme.

She suggested that we could call it 'avocadofication'.