Object Defies Categorization As Planet or Star 119
Kligat writes "The COROT project of the French Space Agency has detected an object described as defying categorization as a planet, star, or brown dwarf. Although only 0.8 times the radius of Jupiter, it is over 20 times as massive, giving it a density twice that of the metal platinum. If it is a star, it would be the smallest of those ever discovered."
It's a Dwarf! (Score:5, Informative)
Well, if it's not quite huge, but (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, I was trying to be silly with Spoonerism, but, upon checking Google, sure enough, it has been done:
http://www.futuresoon.com/2008/04/six-for-science_11.html [futuresoon.com]
And, done here, too:
http://uplink.space.com/printthread.php?Cat=&Board=sciastro&main=570057&type=thread [space.com]
FWIW: IANAAP (Score:5, Informative)
So while this object contributes to some of the missing mass in the universe, it's probably not the kind of thing that properly would be called dark matter.
--AC
Re:FSA? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:FSA? (Score:1, Informative)
The COROT has been designed by a french team and launched by Soyouz end 2006.
http://www.cnes.fr/web/652-corot.php (french website)
And now, some jokes about Anonymous Cowards, and the french posts.