hot Jupiters – Page 2 – Astronomy Now

Discovery of two close-in exoplanet companions sheds new light on planet formation

19 October 2015 Astronomy Now

Some 300 so-called hot Jupiters have been identified over the past two decades, but how did these large, hot planets ever get so close to their suns? Now scientists have made a startling discovery: One of these mysterious hot Jupiter systems has not one, but two close-in planetary companions, leading to new clues about planet formation and migration.

‘Hot Jupiter’ exoplanets may have formed very rapidly

18 September 2015 Astronomy Now

Twenty years after they were first discovered, ‘hot Jupiters’ — gas giant planets that orbit very close to their star — are still enigmatic objects. Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, an international team of astrophysicists has shown that such bodies may only take several million years to migrate close to their newly formed star.