CoRoT discovery challenges the definition of extra-solar planets

(PhysOrg.com) -- The CoRoT satellite has discovered a planet-sized object so exotic that astronomers are unsure whether to call it a planet. The object, named CoRoT-Exo-3b, is approximately the same size as Jupiter, but more than 20 times its mass. It orbits a star slightly larger than the Sun every 4 and a quarter days, and passes in front of the star each time. When this occurs CoRoT observes a small dip in the star's brightness, and it is thanks to these 'transits' that the companion was detected.

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