Scientists Discover An Exoplanet So Massive They're Not Even Sure It's A Planet
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[QUOTE]article: [url]http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-11/scientists-discover-exoplanet-so-massive-theyre-not-even-sure-its-planet[/url]
[IMG]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/fig1e.jpeg[/IMG]
You know we’ve found something new and interesting when scientists don’t really know how to classify it. Using the Subaru Telescope an international team of astronomers has discovered a “super-Jupiter” so massive that it seems they’re not quite sure whether to call it a planet or a low-mass brown dwarf (in other words, a star that failed to fire). Located roughly 170 light-years from Earth, the host star is roughly 2.5 times more massive than the sun and its planet is about 13 times larger than Jupiter, making this the highest-mass star to ever host a directly imaged orbital companion--especially one of this size.
Kappa Andromedae is part of what’s known as the Columba stellar moving group, and at just 30 million years old it is relatively young (our Sun is estimated to be more like five billion hears old). That’s significant if only for the mode of discovery--young stars are good targets for directly imaging exoplanets because their planets (also young) tend to retain more heat leftover from the formation process and thus reveal themselves more readily via infrared emissions. That’s how the researchers were able to zero in on Kappa And b, the super-Jupiter orbiting Kappa Andromedae at a distance about 1.8 times Neptune’s distance from the Sun, over the glare of its host star.
All of this is scientifically significant because according to the way we understand both star formation and planetary formation there are parameters that determine whether objects of certain masses can do certain things, and both Kappa Andromedae and its orbiting super-object sit at interesting places within these parameters. In theory, Kappa And b probably falls just shy of being massive enough to trigger internal fusion--it is right on the brink of potentially becoming a star (hence the speculation that it might be better classified as a brown dwarf).
And as for Kappa Andromedae, its 2.5 solar masses demonstrate that stars its size are capable of producing these huge orbiting bodies--super-planets relative to those found in our solar system--in their planetary discs. That’s something that some theorists thought impossible due to the massive amount of radiation these stars put off (the idea is that this radiation would interfere with the normal planet formation process that takes place around smaller stars like the Sun).
So the strange case of Kappa Andromedae and super-Jupiter Kappa And b gives astronomers some things to think about. The team that discovered it plans to keep the Subaru Telescope trained on it for awhile to better defines the planet’s chemistry and orbital characteristics, which will further their understanding of exactly what is going on over there.[/QUOTE]
It's so big they don't know if it's even a planet. Dayumm..!
I realized something very important about our universe a long time ago.
The largest thing humans will ever discover in our existence will never be the largest thing in existence.
That's no planet...
holy shit.
imagine how powerful the gravity would be if it IS a planet.
Imagine if there was complex life all over it. It would be so much more diverse (because of the massive size of the planet) than Earth could ever imagine.
[QUOTE=Skyward;38531591]That's no planet...[/QUOTE]
It's yo momma
[QUOTE=_Maverick_;38531614]holy shit.
imagine how powerful the gravity would be if it IS a planet.[/QUOTE]
It's probably still a gas giant of some sort, be it a brown dwarf or a proper gas giant, in which case it probably wouldn't have much more mass than any sun or brown dwarf of similar size; because either way it would be comprised mostly of gas, not solid material or liquid. (unless I'm mistaken)
[QUOTE=Kylel999;38531665]Imagine if there was complex life all over it. It would be so much more diverse (because of the massive size of the planet) than Earth could ever imagine.[/QUOTE]
It's probably a gas giant of sorts. Probably no chance that it can sustain life.
However imagining stuff is still fun, especially about strange distant planets. How amazing would it be to be in close orbit of a planet like that.
[QUOTE=Frisk;38531669]It's yo momma[/QUOTE]
I was just coming to this thread to make a yo momma-joke...
Ninja'd
Edit: you serious.
It's so depressing to think how little we'll learn about the universe in our lifetimes.
Have we finally found the bizarro dimension where Galileo was completely wrong and the rest of the system does in fact revolve around Earth?
[QUOTE=Rayss;38531575]I realized something very important about our universe a long time ago.
The largest thing humans will ever discover in our existence will never be the largest thing in existence.[/QUOTE]
The nuclear bomb is the most powerful weapon created by mankind, our ultimate display of force. The sun produces more energy every second than every nuclear weapon mankind has ever made.
And our sun is a small, unremarkable star among billions.
All we are is a group of hairless apes on a rock, looking up, hoping, and fearing that someone else is looking back.
What if it's a living creature.
[QUOTE=Clavus;38531726]It's probably a gas giant of sorts. Probably no chance that it can sustain life.
However imagining stuff is still fun, especially about strange distant planets. How amazing would it be to be in close orbit of a planet like that.[/QUOTE]
Somewhere in the universe there must be a gas giant that sports a variety of floating balloon creatures :v:
Also it'd be terrifying to be in close orbit with a planet that size. You'd look up and you wouldn't even be able to contain the entire surface within your peripheral vision, it'd probably go all fish-eye on you.
[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;38531770]The nuclear bomb is the most powerful weapon created by mankind, our ultimate display of force. The sun produces more energy every second than every nuclear weapon mankind has ever made.
And our sun is a small, unremarkable star among billions.
All we are is a group of hairless apes on a rock, looking up, hoping, and fearing that someone else is looking back.[/QUOTE]
Aiming a nuclear bomb twice as powerful as the sun, at us.
[QUOTE=Clavus;38531726]It's probably a gas giant of sorts. Probably no chance that it can sustain life.
However imagining stuff is still fun, especially about strange distant planets. How amazing would it be to be in close orbit of a planet like that.[/QUOTE]
What [i]would[/i] be cool is if the planet was hollow - so that it wouldn't have a huge mass and could therefore have a low enough gravity to sustain life!
Buuut... no magnetic field. The solar flares would gobble everything on the planet up.
We can still dream though. Personally I think it would be awesome to live on a planet that size - imagine how much there would be to explore! Such a wealth of knowledge! So many resources too - We could all live without guilt! The bio-diversity as well - imagine how many rainforests and deserts there would be, the vast oceans and swathes of ice. Damn.
[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;38531770]The nuclear bomb is the most powerful weapon created by mankind, our ultimate display of force. The sun produces more energy every second than every nuclear weapon mankind has ever made.
[/QUOTE]
Well the be fair, nobody has bothered making anything bigger than the tsar bomba, because anything bigger would probably cause irreparable damage to the planet, if not destroy it entirely. It's just not practical to make anything over 50 megatons (implying nuclear weapons are practical in the first place :rolleye:)
There just isn't enough uranium on the entire planet to cause a fission reaction big enough to hold a candle to the sun.
[QUOTE=Demolitions2;38531811]Aiming a nuclear bomb twice as powerful as the sun, at us.[/QUOTE]
Wouldn't that effectively destroy much, MUCH more than just the Earth?
[QUOTE=Cabbage;38531814]What [i]would[/i] be cool is if the planet was hollow - so that it wouldn't have a huge mass and could therefore have a low enough gravity to sustain life!
Buuut... no magnetic field. The solar flares would gobble everything on the planet up.
We can still dream though. Personally I think it would be awesome to live on a planet that size - imagine how much there would be to explore! Such a wealth of knowledge! So many resources too - We could all live without guilt! The bio-diversity as well - imagine how many rainforests and deserts there would be, the vast oceans and swathes of ice. Damn.[/QUOTE]
It's damn near impossible for a terrestrial planet of this size to exist. This planet is a Brown Dwarf, which is a star that didn't quite make it.
But, in the realm of hypothetical hollow planets, it would be possible to live inside one. If the crust was thick enough, it would just simply block solar emissions, and if you had enough air, and a source of heat, it would be quite habitable.
It sounds like the beginning of a Yo Mamma Joke.
[QUOTE=Rayss;38531575]I realized something very important about our universe a long time ago.
The largest thing humans will ever discover in our existence will never be the largest thing in existence.[/QUOTE]
Dayumm, that's deep.
And depressing...
[QUOTE=Frisk;38531669]It's yo momma[/QUOTE]
Goddammit
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;38531855]Well the be fair, nobody has bothered making anything bigger than the tsar bomba, [B]because anything bigger would probably cause irreparable damage to the planet, if not destroy it entirely. It's just not practical to make anything over 50 megatons (implying nuclear weapons are practical in the first place[/B] :rolleye:)
There just isn't enough uranium on the entire planet to cause a fission reaction big enough to hold a candle to the sun.[/QUOTE]
No, it's because anything as destructive or more so than Tsar Bomba will be too large and heavy, you will have to deliver it from a plane which isn't a viable option with modern air defenses.
Once we find a way to create large amounts of anti-matter without wasting huge amounts of energy, or to harvest it from anti-matter clouds in space or something, our bombs [B]will[/B] get more powerful.
[QUOTE=Doctor Dave;38531798]What if it's a living creature.[/QUOTE]
what if all planets are just sort of giant atoms and they're all just the building blocks of a giant squirrel or something but we have no idea because we're too tiny in comparison to see it, and there's a whole other universe which is still the same universe just on a bigger scale. And the planet that squirrel is on is just another atom in the structure of an even bigger universe, and so on.
What if, man.
[QUOTE=TaniaTiger;38532159]what if all planets are just sort of giant atoms and they're all just the building blocks of a giant squirrel or something but we have no idea because we're too tiny in comparison to see it, and there's a whole other universe which is still the same universe just on a bigger scale. And the planet that squirrel is on is just another atom in the structure of an even bigger universe, and so on.
What if, man.[/QUOTE]
I decided you were high at "squirrel".
[sp]I know that feel[/sp]
[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;38531770]All we are is a group of hairless apes on a rock, looking up, hoping, and fearing that someone else is looking back.[/QUOTE]
dunno bout u m8 but i got hair
What if it really is some massive super battle station ._.
[QUOTE=Rayss;38531575]I realized something very important about our universe a long time ago.
The largest thing humans will ever discover in our existence will never be the largest thing in existence.[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO0TUI9r-So[/media]
"The largest rock humans will ever discover in our existence will never be the largest rock in existence."
Isn't there a theoretical limit to the size of a planet, simply because of how gravity would affect it? I remember reading something about this, not sure if it even applies in this scenario, but since they said it was 13 times Jupiter's size, I would assume it's pretty damn big.
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