EXP-73-101-A0

EXP-73-101-A0, also known as Centaur or the Centauri Planet, is a gas giant planet in the Alpha Centauri System, around 4.3 light-years from Earth.

Discovery
A space probe, known as the EXP left Earth and the Solar System behind for the Alpha Centauri System in 2173. 13 years later, in 2186 it was pulled off-course by an unknown gravitational pull. After almost crashing into an asteroid moon, it discovered the planet.

The planet's discovery was announced 12 months later.

Internal structure and heat
Like every other gas giant planet, EXP-73-101-A0 or Centaur, has an internal structure composed mostly of liquid and gaseous matter. Around 300 km beneath the base of the planets poisonous atmosphere, when the pressure reaches around 360 bars and the temperature 630°C, hydrogen gas rapidly turns to liquid. At a temperature of 3,000°C and a pressure of 16,000 bars, electrons seperate from the hydrogen atoms and liquid hydrogen attains the properties of liquid metal. A thin layer of liquid helium and neon lies between the two layers. A hot core of molten metal lies beneath a thin shell of lighter elements. This core has a temperature of nearly 20,000°C and a pressure of 12 million bars. As a result, Centaur has one of the hottest known interiors of gas giant planets. The planet has a reported diameter of 189,403 km.