Alien ‘Super-Jupiter’ Breaks the Mold on Where Planets Can Exist

An undated artist's impression shows a close-up of the planet b Centauri (AB)b, which orbits a binary system with mass up to 10 times that of the Sun roughly 325 light years from Earth. The planet orbits the two-star system at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the sun. European Southern Observatory/L. Calcada/Handout via REUTERS
An undated artist's impression shows a close-up of the planet b Centauri (AB)b, which orbits a binary system with mass up to 10 times that of the Sun roughly 325 light years from Earth. The planet orbits the two-star system at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the sun. European Southern Observatory/L. Calcada/Handout via REUTERS
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Alien ‘Super-Jupiter’ Breaks the Mold on Where Planets Can Exist

An undated artist's impression shows a close-up of the planet b Centauri (AB)b, which orbits a binary system with mass up to 10 times that of the Sun roughly 325 light years from Earth. The planet orbits the two-star system at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the sun. European Southern Observatory/L. Calcada/Handout via REUTERS
An undated artist's impression shows a close-up of the planet b Centauri (AB)b, which orbits a binary system with mass up to 10 times that of the Sun roughly 325 light years from Earth. The planet orbits the two-star system at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the sun. European Southern Observatory/L. Calcada/Handout via REUTERS

One of the largest planets ever detected orbits at an enormous distance around two stars with a combined mass up to 10 times greater than our sun, an extreme celestial family that shatters assumptions about the type of places where planets can exist.

The planet, located about 325 light years from Earth, is a gas giant apparently similar in composition to Jupiter but about 11 times more massive, researchers said on Wednesday. It belongs to a planetary class called "super-Jupiters" exceeding the mass of our solar system's largest planet.

It orbits a pair of stars gravitationally bound to one another, called a binary system. It has what might be the widest orbit of any known planet - about 100 times wider than Jupiter's orbit around our sun and about 560 times wider than Earth's.

Until now, no planet had been found orbiting a star more than three times the sun's mass. Stars larger than that emit so much radiation that they were thought to torch the planetary formation process. This discovery dashes that view.

"Planet formation appears to be an incredibly diverse process. It has surpassed our imagination many times in the past, and will probably keep doing so in the future," said astronomer Markus Janson of Stockholm University in Sweden, lead author of the research published in the journal Nature, Reuters reported.

Since the discovery in the 1990s of the first planets beyond our solar system - so-called exoplanets - scientists have sought to learn whether or not our solar system represents standard "architecture."

"From the trend seen so far, our solar system is not the most common type of planetary system architecture that exists," said study co-author Gayathri Viswanath, a Stockholm University astronomy doctoral student.

"For instance, there are planetary systems with so-called 'hot Jupiters' where massive Jupiter-size planets orbit their host stars at a very close distance. A vast majority of the discovered planets also seem to have a size between that of Earth and Neptune, a size range in which our solar system has no planets," Viswanath said.

The larger of the tandem stars in the b Centauri system in which the newly discovered planet resides has a mass around five to six times that of the sun and is more than three times hotter, unleashing large amounts of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation.

It is a so-called B-type star, a category of extremely luminous blue stars. It is quite young in cosmic terms, at around 15 million years old. In comparison, the sun is roughly 4.5 billion years old.

Less is known about the smaller of the tandem. It is estimated at anywhere from one-tenth to four times the sun's mass. The two stars orbit relatively close to one another, within about the distance of the Earth from the sun. They can be seen with the naked eye from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.

The European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope captured an image of the planet, named b Centauri (AB)b. Like Jupiter, it is believed to be comprised mostly of hydrogen and helium.

Scientists had doubted that stars larger than three times the sun's mass could host planets because they would present an unfriendly environment for planetary formation.

Planets form from material coming together inside huge disks of swirling gas and dust surrounding newborn stars. Big stars, it was thought, give off so much high-energy radiation that this material might be evaporated. The newly identified planet coalesced so far from its stars that it may have avoided this cauldron.

"The distance from the stars probably matters a lot, at least it did when the planet formed," Janson said.



Iran Envoy: Jareesh is Part of Our Culture, I Prefer It to Mandi

Enayati says regional ties run deep through shared history (Photo: Turki Al-Oqaili)
Enayati says regional ties run deep through shared history (Photo: Turki Al-Oqaili)
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Iran Envoy: Jareesh is Part of Our Culture, I Prefer It to Mandi

Enayati says regional ties run deep through shared history (Photo: Turki Al-Oqaili)
Enayati says regional ties run deep through shared history (Photo: Turki Al-Oqaili)

With a warm smile and a calm tone, Dr. Alireza Enayati, Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, reflects on nearly two years in Riyadh, describing a personal journey shaped by culture, cuisine, and diplomacy.

“I’ve visited different regions and tasted traditional Saudi dishes,” Enayati told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview. “Jareesh –a dish made from cracked wheat and cooked with meat, spices, and vegetables– has become my favorite—I choose it over mandi and other dishes on any occasion.”

According to the Iranian envoy, the two countries share more than just geography. “There are many common dishes between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” he said.

But food is only one layer of the ambassador’s experience. Enayati, who has spent over two decades immersed in Middle East diplomacy, sees deep historical ties binding the region’s peoples together.

“I recently read Al-Hadaqi, a novel about Al-Jahiz—Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr—and his life between Baghdad, Basra, and Iran. It left me with a strong sense that the relationships among peoples in this region go far back in history,” he said. “Reading it felt like tracing our steps backward to better understand the present.”

“These are not new connections,” he added. “We’re not creating the relationship—we’re nurturing what has always existed. The cultural and civilizational dialogue has never ceased.”

His comments come against the backdrop of a thaw in relations between Tehran and Riyadh, after both sides agreed in March 2023—under Chinese mediation—to restore diplomatic ties following a seven-year rift.

The ambassador pointed to culinary overlaps as another reflection of cultural convergence. “Stews, for example, are common in both countries,” he said. “Jareesh is part of Iranian culture too, as are lamb and camel meat. And as everyone knows, kebab originated in Iran, but it’s also very popular here in the Kingdom.”

Enayati has built his career around the region. “I’ve spent more than 20 years working on regional affairs and never served outside this part of the world,” he said with a smile. “I’m not sure if that’s a strength or a limitation, but my focus has always been here.”

Appointed to Riyadh as part of a diplomatic breakthrough, Enayati said he is proud to represent Iran in Saudi Arabia. “It’s a great honor. I dedicate my efforts to enhancing bilateral ties and supporting regional peace and stability.”

Looking ahead, Enayati hopes to help build stronger cultural bridges—not only between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but across the broader region. “Arabic and Persian cultures both occupy a distinguished place,” he said. “We must deepen mutual understanding between them.”

He concluded with a nod to Tehran’s long-term vision for cooperation with Riyadh. “Iran and Saudi Arabia are both pillars of regional stability,” he said. “This region belongs to its people, and we view our relationship with the Kingdom through that lens.”