Strange 'twin' new worlds found

[Jessterw]

From BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5241774.stm

A pair of strange new worlds that blur the boundaries between planets and stars have been discovered beyond our Solar System. [...]

The pair belongs to what some astronomers believe is a new class of planet-like objects floating through space; so-called planetary mass objects, or "planemos", which are not bound to stars.

They appear to have been forged from a contracting gas cloud, in a similar way to stars, but are much too cool to be true stars.

And while they have similar masses to many of the giant planets discovered beyond our Solar System (the largest weighs in at 14 times the mass of Jupiter and the other is about seven times more massive), they are not thought to be true planets either.

[Dr Mordrid]

Using the term "planemo" is a bit misleading since it's a general term that also encompasses any object that is roughly spherical or ellipsoidal from self-gravity and never achieves fusion in its core, meaning you live on one

[Jessterw]

What's misleading about it? A planet is simply a planemo that orbits a fusor/star. If anything the wording they chose to use could be misleading or confusing. But they both are certainly a form of planemo by all indications.

[Dr Mordrid]

That's what I meant; their wording was iffy. I'd consider them a compact brown dwarf.

[Brian Ellis]

Not according to http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...6_planet.shtml

[Dr Mordrid]

They appear to have been forged from a contracting gas cloud, in a similar way to stars, but are much too cool to be true stars.

An un-ignited gas cloud sure sounds like a brown dwarf to me.

http://astro.berkeley.edu/~stars/bdwarfs/