thumb|Artist's impression of [[2M1207b]]

A super-Jupiter is a gas giant exoplanet that is more massive than the planet Jupiter. For example, companions at the planet–brown dwarf borderline have been called super-Jupiters, such as around the star Kappa Andromedae.

Makeup

By 2011 there were 180 known super-Jupiters, some hot, some cold. Even though they are more massive than Jupiter, they remain about the same size as Jupiter up to 80 Jupiter masses. An example of this may be the exoplanet HAT-P-1b with about half the mass of Jupiter but about 1.38 times larger diameter.

Super-Jupiters tend to have more eccentric orbits than smaller gas giants and may have formed from collisions between such gas giants.

CoRoT-3b

CoRoT-3b, with a mass around 22 Jupiter masses, is thought to have an average density of 26.4 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, greater than osmium (22.6 g/cm<sup>3</sup>), the densest chemical element under standard conditions. The planet is likely composed mainly of hydrogen, but the extreme gravitational compression causes the high density. The surface gravity is also high, over 50 times that of Earth.

See also

  • Extrasolar planet
  • Ice giant
  • Hot Jupiter
  • Jupiter analogue
  • Kepler-1704b
  • List of planet types
  • Sub-brown dwarf
  • Super-Earth

References

  • Brown dwarfs: Failed stars, super Jupiters (2008)