National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Largest Known Planet Found, Has Density of Cork


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A computer simulation shows TrES-4, the largest planet discovered so far, next to its host star.

The planet has confounded scientists because it's nearly twice as big as Jupiter but only three-quarters the weight—giving it the density of balsa wood or cork.

Image courtesy Jeffrey Hall, Lowell Observatory