Newly discovered celestial object defies categories: Is it a new kind of planet or a rare kind of failed star?
Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - 12:00
in Astronomy & Space
An object discovered by astrophysicists nearly 500 light years away from the Sun may challenge traditional understandings about how planets and stars form. The object is located near and likely orbiting a very young star about 440 light years away from the Sun, and is leading astrophysicists to believe that there is not an easy-to-define line between what is and is not a planet.