Astronomers who have spotted three large planets orbiting around a single star have just found another one, that seems to be larger than Jupiter. It seems to be very close to the star HR 8799. The astronomers are wondering how all four planets were formed. The newly-found planet lies only 130 light-years from the Earth, and 14.5 astronomical units from its sun. "The planets orbiting HR 8799, with masses estimated at between five and 10 times that of Jupiter, form a scaled-up version of the planets in the outer solar system, according to codiscoverer Christian Marois of the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, Canada, and his colleagues."
The astronomers are also wondering how the gas giant arised. The astronomers believe that if the other three planets were formed right where they are they must have been formed by gravitational instability, and the new planet is believe to be formed by core accretion. There is also a belief that the planets have migrated after they were formed. They are still discussing this issue, and are hoping to find out how these planets were formed.
I found this very interesting. Especially how new planets are continuously found in space. It makes me wonder how many more are out there that have not been found yet, and how many are forming at this very moment.
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