HIP 41378 observed by CHEOPS: Where is planet d?

HIP 41378 d is a long-period planet that has only been observed to transit twice, three years apart, with K2. According to stability considerations and a partial detection of the Rossiter-McLaughlin e ffect, P-d = 278:36 d has been determined to be the most likely orbital period. We targeted HIP 41378 d with CHEOPS at the predicted transit timing based on P-d = 278:36 d, but the observations show no transit. We find that large (> 22:4 h) transit timing variations (TTVs) could explain this non-detection during the CHEOPS observation window. We also investigated the possibility of an incorrect orbital solution, which would have major implications for our knowledge of this system. If P-d not equal 278:36 d, the periods that minimize the eccentricity would be 101 :22 d and 371 :14 d. The shortest orbital period will be tested by TESS, which will observe HIP 41378 in Sector 88 starting in January 2025. Our study shows the importance of a mission like CHEOPS, which today is the only mission able to make long observations (i.e., from space) to track the ephemeris of long-period planets possibly a ffected by large TTVs.