Posted on 11/19/2012 5:27:45 PM PST by BenLurkin
In a rare direct photo of a world beyond Earth, astronomers have spotted a planet 13 times more massive than Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system.
The planet orbits a star called Kappa Andromedae that is 2.5 times the mass of the sun and is located 170 light-years away from Earth. As a gas giant larger than Jupiter, it's classified as a "super-Jupiter."
Astronomers say the object's immense size places it right on the edge of the classifications for giant planets and a type of failed star known as a brown dwarf. Its official name is Kappa Andromedae b, or Kappa And b for short, and it likely has a reddish glow, researchers said
The object is an interesting test case for theories of planet formation, scientists say. Based on observations of this system, the super Jupiter appears to have formed in the same way ordinary, lower-mass exoplanets do, by coalescing from a "protoplanetary disk" of material orbiting a nascent star.
That's because its orbit, somewhat wider than the path Neptune takes around our sun, is at a comparable distance to planetary orbits in the solar system. Additionally, its star, Kappa Andromedae, is relatively young, at about 30 million years old (for comparison, the sun is roughly 5 billion years old). These clues point toward a formation story typical of smaller planets.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
I say we call it “Chunk”.
It would be cool to find one of these massive planets with a dozen Earth sized moons with liquid water and thick atmospheres.
There sure are a lot of stars out there. Should we develop a propulsion system that makes intergalactic travel possible in my lifetime, I should like to personally take a tour of all the stars. I'm talking at least a day or so observing the solar system of every single star in every single galaxy in the universe. It would definitely be time consuming but I think it would be a rewarding journey. I shall take back to Earth with me some souvenirs.
That right there is a lot of pixie dust..
I imagine the tides would be crazy... might be a good place for a surf resort.
Awesome! Imagine what the night sky would look like. Bet they would have some huge tides on those moons. I wish I had been born about 500 years in the future when we will probably be able to visit.
"Green" being an available name.
Can't remember was the temperature range definition is.
Coming to you live from Kappa Andromedae with The Galactic surfing championships. The surf’s up for this final day of competition. Those 400 footers are rolling in.
Tides might not be very big at all. I think wide deep oceans are required to build up a tidal rhythm. Kind of like the great lakes don’t have tides.
Yeah they would probably be tidally locked like our moon. All the water would be collected on the side facing the planet.
Thanks BenLurkin.
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If you know the Lord, you won’t have to wait that long. And you could look forward to exploring the infinite? universe in a glorified body such as Christ had when He walked out of the tomb on that first Easter morning. I know I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation.
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