---
title: "Astronomers Record First \"Vanishing Planet\": Gas Giant TOI-2535 b Loses Transits Due to Hidden Neighbor"
description: "UCLA astronomers have discovered the first \"vanishing planet\" TOI-2535 b, 1,000 light-years from Earth: the hot Jupiter's transits stopped due to the gravitational influence of a hidden neighbor. The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters."
date: 2026-11-10T19:16:17.223Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/astronomers-first-vanishing-planet-toi-2535b
tags: [astronomy, toi-2535b, nasa-tess, hot-jupiter, ucla, exoplanets]
author: "Alexander Buran"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Astronomers Record First "Vanishing Planet": Gas Giant TOI-2535 b Loses Transits Due to Hidden Neighbor

![Space telescope TESS against the starry sky and a giant planet](https://xab.info/media/2026/11/10/astronomers-found-first-vanishing-planet-toi-2535b/astronomers-found-first-vanishing-planet-toi-2535b-1.webp)

## Key Points

- The UCLA team discovered the "vanishing planet" TOI-2535 b ~1,000 light-years from Earth; the work is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- TOI-2535 b is a "hot Jupiter" with an 8.25-day orbital period; TESS recorded its transits from April 2019 to March 2026.
- The planet did not explode: transits stopped due to the gravitational influence of a neighboring planet with an inclined orbit that shifted it out of the line of sight.
- The next transit is expected in 30–50 years; the discovery challenges the classical model of "hot Jupiter" formation.

A team of astronomers led by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers has announced the discovery of the first-ever "vanishing planet"—gas giant TOI-2535 b, located approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth. The study's findings are published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. According to the researchers, this is the most extreme recorded example of planetary gravitational interaction to date, where a celestial body effectively "slips out" of telescopes' field of view right during a series of observations.

### What is a "Hot Jupiter" and How Was It Tracked

TOI-2535 b belongs to the class of "hot Jupiters"—massive gas planets orbiting at a very close distance to their star. The giant completes a full revolution around its star, or a planetary year, in just 8.25 Earth days. From April 2019 to March 2026, NASA's TESS space telescope consistently recorded the planet's transits—the moments when it passed in front of the stellar disk and partially blocked its light. It was these regular drops in brightness that allowed scientists to track the object and calculate its parameters.

### Why the Planet "Vanished": Not an Explosion, but a Gravitational Shift

Analyzing the data, astrophysicists noticed anomalies in the celestial body's behavior: the transits stopped. The researchers proved that the planet did not explode or get ejected from the system. As it turned out, another massive planet with an inclined orbit orbits near TOI-2535 b. Their mutual gravitational influence "stirs up" their orbits, causing TOI-2535 b's orbit to shift and move out of the telescopes' direct line of sight. The planet continues to exist and rotate, but now it no longer passes directly in front of the star's disk from the perspective of an Earth observer—it has, in the scientists' words, "hidden."

### When the Giant Will Become Visible Again

According to the authors' calculations, TOI-2535 b will next pass in front of its star only in 30–50 years, although its hidden neighbor might appear in the telescopes' field of view sooner. The researchers compare the effect to solar and lunar eclipses on Earth: they do not occur every month precisely because of the Moon's orbital tilt, and a similar orbital geometry makes TOI-2535 b's transits a rare event rather than a monthly occurrence.

### What the Discovery Changes in Planet Formation Theories

The discovery also calls into question traditional views on the formation of "hot Jupiters." According to the classical model, such giants are born far from the star in ice-rich zones and then migrate inward. However, the presence of a neighboring planet and the perturbed orbit of TOI-2535 b point to a rarer, but no less interesting scenario—a slow forced drift during which the planets exerted gravitational influence on each other for a long time. The scientists emphasize that the recorded case has become a direct observation of this process and opens a new direction for studying the dynamics of multi-planet systems.

## Fact-Check & Sources

- [Астрономы нашли первую "планету-призрака": телескоп NASA зафиксировал ее исчезновение](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/astronomi-znayshli-pershu-planetu-privida-1794324047.html) - Primary source: UCLA, publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters; TOI-2535 b at ~1,000 light-years, period 8.25 days, TESS transits from 04.2019 to 03.2026, orbital shift due to a neighboring planet, next transit in 30–50 years. Caveat: the "first-ever" status is the authors' assessment.
- [Водяные облака: астрономы нашли первую планету с погодой, похожей на земную](https://www.5-tv.ru/news/5091800/vodanye-oblaka-astronomy-nasli-pervuu-planetu-spogodoj-pohozej-nazemnuu-aii/) - Describes another observation—changes in water cloud cover on brown dwarf WISE 0855 (~7.5 light-years) using the James Webb Space Telescope. Not related to facts about TOI-2535 b, not included in the article.

## FAQ

### What is the "vanishing planet" TOI-2535 b?

It is a gas giant whose transits stopped not because the planet was destroyed or left the system, but because a neighboring planet's gravitational influence shifted its orbit out of the telescopes' direct line of sight.

### How far from Earth is TOI-2535 b located?

According to the study, approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth.

### Why did the planet stop being visible?

A massive planet with an inclined orbit orbits near it; their mutual gravitational influence perturbed their orbits, and TOI-2535 b moved out of the line where telescopes detect transits.

### When will the planet be visible in transit again?

According to scientists' calculations, in 30–50 years, although the hidden neighbor might appear in the telescopes' field of view sooner.

### What does the discovery say about the formation of "hot Jupiters"?

It challenges the classical migration model from distant icy zones and points to a rarer scenario of slow forced drift with prolonged mutual gravitational interaction between planets.