Wed Sep 18 02:19:31 UTC 2024: ## Astronomers Discover “Cold Super-Jupiter” in Distant Star System
**Torun, Poland** – An international team of astronomers has discovered a second exoplanet orbiting the Sun-like star HD 118203, located roughly 300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. This newly discovered planet, dubbed HD 118203 c, is a “Cold Super-Jupiter,” significantly larger and more massive than Jupiter, and orbits its star at a distance of six times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
The discovery, led by Associate Professor Gracjan Maciejewski of the Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) in Torun, Poland, was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The team utilized data collected over several years using various telescopes, including the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo in Spain.
HD 118203, also known as Liesma, is a G-type yellow dwarf star, similar to our Sun but slightly older and larger. In 2006, astronomers detected a “Hot Jupiter” exoplanet, HD 118203 b, orbiting very close to Liesma. The discovery of the “Cold Super-Jupiter” confirms that HD 118203 is a hierarchical planetary system, with one planet orbiting close to its star and the other orbiting much further out.
“This is one of only a handful of hierarchical systems known to astronomers,” said Prof. Maciejewski. “The configuration is peculiar, where one planet orbits closely with its star while a second orbits them wide enough to form another pair with the first one.”
This discovery is significant as it challenges existing theories on the formation of massive planets. Understanding the dynamics of this system could provide insights into the formation and evolution of gas giants in our own Solar System, like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
The international team plans to continue gathering data on the HD 118203 system to search for additional exoplanets and deepen their understanding of this fascinating and complex planetary system.
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