Ronn!Blankenship wrote:
...
Strange New Planet Baffles Astronomers
Washington, DC - Using a network of small automated telescopes known as
HAT, Smithsonian astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other
known world. This new planet, designated HAT-P-1, orbits one member of a
pair of distant stars 450 light-years away in the constellation Lacerta.
...
With a radius about 1.38 times Jupiter's, HAT-P-1 is the largest known
planet. In spite of its huge size, its mass is only half that of Jupiter.
...
HAT-P-1's parent star is one member of a double-star system called ADS
16402 and is visible in binoculars. The two stars are separated by about
1500 times the Earth-Sun distance. The stars are similar to the Sun but
...
Ronn--
Thanks for the ghost-post. Here are a couple
questions for what they're worth:
It says "largest known planet". Does this mean
"largest planet with a known radius"? There are
certainly heavier extrasolar planets. Is there
some theoretical reason to expect heavier "hot
jupiters" to have smaller radii?
I also have a problem with the juxtaposition of
"450 LY", "visible in binoculars" and "similar
to the Sun". The Sun is certainly not visible
in anything you'd call binoculars from 450 light
years away. So I'd guess that these stars are
a LOT brighter?
---David
Planet Cork Maru
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