SPACE.com -- Largest Known Exoplanet Discovered
In this case, large means physical size, not mass. Sometimes astronomers are imprecise that way, but that's not an option when it comes to this planet. Normally mass and size correlate well with each other, but this exoplanet doesn't fit the patterns we see in our own solar system: small, dense terrestrial worlds, large and less dense gas giants. This one is part of a new subclass of puffy planets. We don't know how they form or how they fit in. Not yet anyway. That's what makes astronomy fun, and leaves plenty of room for science fiction.
Posted by Mike at August 9, 2007 11:28 AM