Puffy Planets
Gas giants with a large radius and very low density are sometimes called "puffy planets" or "hot Saturns", due to their similar density to Saturn. Puffy planets may orbit close to their stars since the intense heat from the star and internal heating within the planet will help inflate the planet's atmosphere. Six large-radius low-density planets have been detected by the transit method. In order of discovery they are: HAT-P-1b, COROT-1b, TrES-4, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, and Kepler-7b. Some hot Jupiters detected by the radial-velocity method may be puffy planets. Most of these planets are below two Jupiter masses as more massive planets have stronger gravity keeping them at roughly Jupiter's size.
Read more about this topic: Hot Jupiter
Famous quotes containing the word planets:
“I would sell my life to avoid
the pain that begins in the crib
with its bars or perhaps
with your first breath
when the planets drill
your future into you....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)