A team of Hawai‘i based astronomers have discovered a newborn planet larger than Jupiter that has an orbit very different from our own. The planet is in the Taurus stellar nursery, more than 400 light years away and it’s orbiting a 2-million year old sun that’s considered the stellar equivalent of a week old human baby.
The discovery is helping scientists understand how large planets known as “Hot Jupiters” settle into orbits around their sun which are much closer than the sun in our own solar system. They add that it can also contain clues to understanding how planetary systems form and evolve. Clare Moutou is an astronomer with the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope on the Summit of Mauna Kea.
More information can be found on the Canada-France-Hawai‘i-Telescope's Website.
