Astronomers say the discovery of yet another exotic star system in which one of the planet 13 times the mass of Jupiter, is the largest planet of the solar system. The giant planet orbits the star Kappa Andromedae, which is 2.5 times larger and heavier than the Sun. Removed from us this star system 170 light-years. Researchers say that the gas planet like Jupiter or Saturn, can be very large, much larger than Earth or Mars, but their size and there are certain limits. So now open the "super-Jupiter" goes beyond this theoretical limit, and by today's standards, this planet would have to be transformed into a mini-star, such a star-brown dwarf. But for some reason it did not happen.
According to one new planet, called Kappa Andromedae or just Kappa And is too low density, so it can not warm up and so far only slightly dim glow red. Makelveyn Michael, an astronomer at the Center NASA Space Flight Goddard, said that by modern standards, the mass of the planet is sufficient to in its interior to start a nuclear reaction, but in reality they are not. Or they are very weak. "While our findings are not definitive, but you can pre-assert that the theory of star formation in the light of the new planet may undergo correction," - he said.
According to the scientist, this object is also interesting in that it can be checked, and the theory of planet formation. The researchers believe that the planet is able to achieve its super-size due to unusual protoplanetary disk from which it was created. The planet is quite far from the star (further from the Sun than Neptune), but it is relatively new to the planetary standards, its age is about 30 million years, which leads scientists to believe that the planet is only recently completed its formation.
