Astronomers are discovering new planets every day. Maybe not literally every day, but pretty close to every day! As of April 1, 2019 there were 4,023 known exoplanets out there. Wow! Recently astronomers announced the discovery of an exoplanet that has thirteen times the mass of Jupiter.
Astronomers find evidence of a planet with a mass almost 13 times that of Jupiter
Jupiter is sometimes called a 'failed star', but that's misleading, as I've discussed on this blog previously. The smallest stars are about 8% the mass of the Sun. Jupiter, on the other hand, only has 0.1% the mass of the Sun. Therefore Jupiter had a LONG way to go to be close to becoming a star. Even this planet that is 13 times the mass of Jupiter is still not very close to becoming a star. This planet has about 1.3% the mass of the Sun. Yes, very large, but it still needs more than 6 times this mass to be a star.
Setting that all aside, wow, another new planet! Jupiter plays a great role in our Solar System due to its large mass and gravitational field that influences the motions of the other planets and objects. This new planet, at 13 times larger, will have an even greater influence. How will that affect the possibility of life in this system? I'm not really sure, but small differences can produce large changes! The wonders of science and astronomy!
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