Giant Planet Nine Times the Mass of Jupiter Found 73
cremeglace writes "In the late 1990s, astronomers noticed a distinct warp in the disk of dust and gas orbiting a young star some 60 light-years from Earth. Now, using new analytical tools, researchers have discovered a giant planet lurking within the dusty haze. About nine times as massive as Jupiter and composed mainly of gas, the planet is only a few million years old, proving that such enormous planetary bodies can form rapidly."
What's amazing about this is that the images taken of the star clearly show the planet first on one side of the star, and then the other, several years later.
Re:Mass isn't the story (Score:3, Funny)
Posted to my Facebook Page.
This is really cool -- and good info about what it takes to make an actual star in the comments that follow the parent. Sometimes Astronomy means observations over years and years.
Good job, Phil!
Re:Prepare the Armada (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Labels and Definitions (Score:1, Funny)
..No. It is a double dwarf planet.
Re:Labels and Definitions (Score:2, Funny)
>> you will find entities that challenge your preconceived label or definition of what something "IS"
Yeah, I read the headline as Giant Panda Nine Times the Mass of Jupiter Found, and thought, "Well, who am I to judge?".
Re:Not a star now? (Score:3, Funny)
the moon is a star?
Re:Nine Times the Mass of Jupiter? (Score:3, Funny)
You think that's mean? I'm from Pluto, you insensitive clod!