Enormous alien planet discovered

[Greg Bernhardt]

Giant Alien Planet Discovered in Most Distant Orbit Ever Seen
\http://www.space.com/23858-most-distant-alien-planet-discovery-hd106906b.html

An enormous alien planet — one that is 11 times more massive than Jupiter — was discovered in the most distant orbit yet found around a single parent star.

The newfound exoplanet, dubbed HD 106906 b, dwarfs any planetary body in the solar system, and circles its star at a distance that is 650 times the average distance between the Earth and the sun. The existence of such a massive and distantly orbiting planet raises new questions about how these bizarre worlds are formed, the researchers said.

 

[Drakkith]

That's a big planet.

 

[Chronos]

Interesting, that is close to the estimated mass range necessary for deuterium fusion. I can't help but wonder if that could partially account for its apparent infrared brightness.

 

[roj2003]

I thought >30 Jupiter masses and you were into brown dwarf territory?

 

[Windadct]

It's not an Alien Planet.

 

[Drakkith]

It's not an Alien Planet.

Technically I think it's an extrasolar planet.

 

[Chronos]

While there is no universally recognized standard for distinguishing a brown dwarf from a planet, the point at which deuterium fusion can occur is clearly of interest. This limit is generally assumed to be around 13 Jupiter masses, but, could even be as low as 11 Jupiter masses under favorable conditions. For discussion see http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.5150, The Deuterium-Burning Mass Limit for Brown Dwarfs and Giant Planets. The author, David Spiegel, is a widely respected authority on this subject.