Scientists Discover An Exoplanet So Massive They're Not Even Sure It's A Planet
50 replies, posted
[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 universe.
[editline]20th November 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=_Maverick_;38531614]holy shit.
imagine how powerful the gravity would be if it IS a planet.[/QUOTE]
It's a gas giant. It wouldn't really be all that impressive compared to the multitudes of more massive objects in existence.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;38531801]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]
[thumb]http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/pioneer10jupiter.jpg[/thumb]
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE
[QUOTE=Falubii;38532743]The universe.[/QUOTE]
"the largest thing ever is everything"
[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]
Except you couldn't explore it because the gravity would crush you and as previously stated it's most likely a gas giant, certainly not a solid planet, there's no knowledge of solid planets even close to that size, I think the largest found is just 10-11 times the size of the Earth (don't take me for granted on this one).
Although an hollow planet would be interesting, something that was originally beginning to form a gas giant but at some point got really dense and solid matter formed a crust around it, I wonder how thick this crust would have to be in relation to the gas core in order to form a reversed gravity where you could stand inside the planet with the gravity pulling you outwards instead of toward the core, imagine if that gas could form an internal atmosphere :v:
[QUOTE=DeanWinchester;38532880]I wonder how thick this crust would have to be in relation to the gas core in order to form a reversed gravity where you could stand inside the planet with the gravity pulling you outwards instead of toward the core,[/QUOTE]
Gravity doesn't work that way. The center of gravity will still roughly be in the center of the planet, but the force of the planet spinning could 'push' you away from the center.
[QUOTE=Paramud;38532941]Gravity doesn't work that way. The center of gravity will still roughly be in the center of the planet, but the force of the planet spinning could 'push' you away from the center.[/QUOTE]
But of course there is no evidence that a planet so ridiculous has or ever will form.
[QUOTE=Bassplaya7;38531753]It's so depressing to think how little we'll learn about the universe in our lifetimes.[/QUOTE]
We've actually advanced incredibly far in the knowledge of the cosmos in the past century. Plus, going from the first aircraft to a man stepping on the moon [I]in just under 70 years[/I].
[QUOTE=Falubii;38532964]But of course there is no evidence that a planet so ridiculous has or ever will form.[/QUOTE]
It'd likely need to be a regular planet hollowed out and filled with supports so that it doesn't collapse in on itself.
We're gonna need a bigger boat.
Swamp gas.
[QUOTE=Paramud;38533023]It'd likely need to be a regular planet hollowed out and filled with supports so that it doesn't collapse in on itself.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, something like that would almost certainly never form naturally.
[QUOTE=Bassplaya7;38531753]It's so exciting to think how much we'll learn about the universe in our lifetimes.[/QUOTE]
FTFY
This is really cool, hope we can get some more data on it.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;38531801][b]Somewhere in the universe there must be a gas giant that sports a variety of floating balloon creatures[/b] :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]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uakLB7Eni2E[/media]
[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;38531770]And our sun is a small, unremarkable star among billions.[/QUOTE]
Only 10% of known stars are more massive than the sun. It's a pretty big spectacle.
It's a living thing. Devours nearby star systems and small children.
Oh hey it's Azatoth
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN-FfJKgis8[/MEDIA]
Little bit late to the 'Hollow Planet' thing, but this is an interesting take on the idea.
My concept was that, in theory, you could have a planet this huge but still be terrestrial and life-permitting if it were hollow, and therefore its mass did not crush everything.
Obviously there a multiple barriers in the way, like the magnetic field etc. But it's a nice science-y thing to think about.
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