Star Smaller Than Some Planets Found

Abhishek writes "Astronomers have found the tiniest full-fledged star known, an object just 16 percent bigger than Jupiter. It is smaller than some known planets that orbit other stars. The star is a companion to a Sun-like star toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. It was found and measured by observing changes in the light output of the system when the smaller star passes in front of the larger star from our vantagepoint. This would give a better idea of brown dwarfs or failed stars. The star has been named OGLE-TR-122b. This discovery also marks the possibility of stars that look strikingly like planets."

Comments

Re:Quadrupole-induced polarization?

[Lord Ender]

Wha? Sound like something LaForge would come up with to detect a cloaked romulan warbird.

Re:Quadrupole-induced polarization?

[clarkcox3]

I think that was the intention.

Tiny aliens...

[HermanAB]

well, now we know where these tiny grey alians come from - a tiny star with tiny planets...