Colossal Era For The Cosmos

Astronomers are puzzling over the formation and evolution of a slew of recently discovered massive planets that closely orbit stars near the solar system.

With the announcement last month that a nearby star has an orbiting companion more than three times the mass of Jupiter, the hunt for planets that orbit stars similar to the sun reached a critical milestone.

For the first time, astronomers know of more planets circling such stars outside the solar system than within it. Scientists have no images of these alien worlds, but what little is known of their properties strains familiar notions of how planets form and where they reside.

At least six of the 10 bodies are more massive than Jupiter, the solar system's heavyweight. Six revolve around their parent stars more closely than Mercury, the sun's innermost planet, hugs the sun. And four of the bodies follow a path more elongated than that of Pluto, the planet with the most elliptical orbit around the sun.

With only a handful of extra-solar planets detected, it's too soon to say which planets follow the norm and which are freaks of nature. It may even turn out that the familiar orbs in our own solar system are the oddballs.

Like some exotic fauna, however, the collection of new planets may represent a highly specialized sample, astronomers caution.

Indeed, the most common search technique favors the detection of massive, closely orbiting planets. Still, researchers did not expect to find any planet as eavy as Jupiter to reside within roasting distance of its parent star.
Written by Ron Cowen

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