Six new planets

An international team has discovered six new planets that are remarkable in their different characteristics. The planets are called, CoRoT-8b (a small ice planet), CoRoT-10b (with an elongated orbit), CoRot-11b (a quickly rotating planet), CoRoT-12b , 13b and 14b (a trio of giants) and CoRoT-15b (a brown dwarf). They’re named after CoRot, a space telescope operated by the French space agency CNES. The telescope sits outside of our solar system and "discovers" the planets when they pass in transit. CoRoT 14b is an especially rare find: it has a size similar to Jupiter, but is 7.5 times the mass. It’s only the second of its type that’s been discovered. "Each of these planets is interesting in its own right, but what is really fascinating is how diverse they are," says Dr. Suzanne Aigrain from Oxford University’s Department of Physics. "Planets are intrinsically complex objects, and we have much to learn about them yet."

Science Daily