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Nature 449, 147-148 (13 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/449147a; Published online 12 September 2007

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Extrasolar planets: The one that got away

Jonathan Fortney1

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Hanging around a star that has passed through its red-giant phase doesn't seem a likely place for a planet. But one planet apparently managed to avoid being engulfed by its bloated star — might others, too?

One of the most surprising things that we have learnt about planets during the past 15 years is that they can turn up almost anywhere. On page 189 of this issue, Silvotti et al.1 expand our planet-finding horizon still farther: they have discovered a massive gas-giant planet orbiting an old star in a rare, late stage of the star's evolution.

  1. Jonathan Fortney is at the NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA.
    Email: jfortney@arc.nasa.gov

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