Super-Jupiter

An artist's impression of a super-Jupiter planet.

A super-Jupiter, or superjovian planet, is any planet with more mass than Jupiter (thus being giant planets). Many super-Jupiter planets have been discovered outside Earth's solar system, in part because super-Jupiter planets are easier to detect than smaller planets.

While there is no hard dividing line between super-Jupiter planets and brown dwarf stars, anything above a mass of 15 Jupiters (4,770 M_E) would likely be classed as a star. However, recent research suggests some bodies as great as 17 Jupiter masses do not burn deuterium and hence are super-Jupiter planets.

Oddly, the superjovians are expected to have roughly the same dimensions as Jupiter, regardless of mass. For example an 8 Jupiter mass planet would be roughly 1.1 to 1.2 times the radius. This is due to the compression of the planet's gaseous envelope by the increased gravity. So-called "puffy planets" can be larger due to thermal expansion.

See also

• Mesklin
• Sub-Jupiter
• Super-Earth