Strangely chonky exoplanet has astronomers puzzled

The exoplanet is similar to our sun. The planet is 15 million years old and has researchers puzzled because of it's huge density.

HD 114082 b is roughly the same size as Jupiter but has eight times the mass. HD 114082 b is much too dense for a young gas giant with only 15 planets.

Earth is already a dense planet because it is a rocky type with a metal core. There is something about the way gas giants form that we are not currently aware of.

Giant planets can be formed in two different ways, according to a co-author. There is a disk of gas and dust surrounding a young central star.

In core accretion, a small core attracts other particles and sticks to it until it becomes the starting point of a planet. The second theory is called disk instability, in which there is a disk of matter that splits into smaller pieces.

This planet is not in line with the core accretion theory. You would expect it to start off hotter than in the disk instability model if it were formed by core accretion. The less popular disk instability model is better suited for this planet.

There are many questions about how planets form. It's too early to abandon the idea of a hot start. We don't understand the formation of giant planets.

There will be a letter to the editor in the journal.

There is a recommended video.