Big World

Regular readers of this blog know about super-Earths.  Well, now astronomers have found a super-Jupiter, something they didn't necessarily think existed.

The world in question is 13 times as massive as Jupiter.  It orbits a young star about 170 light years away which is itself 2.5 times as massive as the Sun.  Since the planet orbits at a distance similar to Neptune's from the Sun, astronomers think it formed the same way most planets do.  The problem is that the current standard theory of planetary formation doesn't really contemplate planets of such size.  So, something has to give.  Either this planet did not form in what astronomers see as the customary manner, or the current theory has to be revised so that it accounts for such big worlds.