Astronomers Discover Planet Originating Outside Our Galaxy Circling A Dying Star

Astronomers are always looking for new planets that are originating other stars for signs of life and other habitable worlds sometimes that search yields some interesting discoveries like HIP 13044 b. The planet is about 1.25 times the mass of Jupiter and is a gas giant.

The astronomers say that the planet likely formed early in the life of its solar system and that the star it is orbiting is dying. The host star for the planet has consumed all the hydrogen in its core and turned into a red giant, presumably consuming any rocky and more Earth-like planets that may have been part of the solar system originally.

One of the coolest parts of the find is that the solar system the planet is part of was originally outside our galaxy and was part of what the scientists call a dwarf galaxy. The dwarf galaxy was consumed by the Milky Way about 6-9 billion years ago. The astronomers say that studying the planet as it orbits the dying star will give them insight into what the final days of our solar system will be like in the distant future.