Scientists Discover Largest-Known Planet
By MonAmb
@MonAmb (126)
August 11, 2007 8:48am CST
Scientists have discovered the universe's largest known planet, a giant ball made of mostly hydrogen that is 20 times larger than Earth and circling a star 1,400 light-years away.
I cannot believe that a planet this big has gone un-seen before! I guess it just goes to show how massive and unpredictable our universe is! I would love to see the day when we travel to distant planets for holidays or vacations!
Article: http://flabbergastnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/scientists-discover-largest-known.html
2 responses
@marmalaide (470)
•
11 Aug 07
Well 1400 light years is a VERY long way away and it was not until comparatively recently that scientists had the technology to detect planets belonging to other stars. This is because planets do not generate any light of their own (if they did, they would be a star!). That means we can only discover them by looking at the effect their gravitational pull has on the star they are orbiting. A planet that massive would have a big effect on its star, because it is not that far off becoming a star in its own right. It is quite likely that there are many smaller planets out there which have not been discovered because their gravitational pull is not strong enough.
