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.
Amazing (Score:3, Informative)
Mass isn't the story (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Amazing (Score:4, Informative)
They were suggesting that it's amazing that our images clearly show it.
Not that it happens.
Re:Not a star now? (Score:3, Informative)
The cutoff seems to be somewhat higher, at around 13 times the mass of Jupiter [ciw.edu].
Re:Mass isn't the story (Score:4, Informative)
You need about 75 Jupiter masses to get sustainable stellar fusion, ignoring questions of composition.
Re:Not a star now? (Score:5, Informative)
So to summarize:
If it shines it's a star.
Else if the mass is greater than the theoretical minimum for fusion (13 Jupiter masses), it is a brown dwarf.
Else if the mass orbits a star or stellar remnant it is a planet
Else it is a 'sub-brown dwarf'
Re:It's a trap! (Score:3, Informative)
Great, they rebuilt the Death Star a second time and now we found it.
Come on, that was a long time ago. And really far away.
Re:Mass isn't the story (Score:1, Informative)