Discovery of Colossal 'Super-Jupiters' Puzzles Scientists
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By Russell Mclendon
Published on March 1, 2026.
Researchers have found that three massive gas giants, about 130 light-years away, orbit an F-type star in the constellation Pegasus, which are estimated to be around 5 to 10 times the mass of Jupiter. The study used atmospheric chemistry to investigate these massive planets' formation, using their atmospheric composition to determine their formation. The discovery of these 'Super-Jupiters' challenges traditional formation theories. The researchers used data from JWST's NIRSpec instrument to search for sulfur, a refractory element that is largely locked into solid grains in protoplanetary disks. They found strong evidence of hydrogen sulfide in HR 8799 c and d and their atmospheric models indicate similar sulfur enrichment across all three inner planets. The planets are uniformly enriched in heavy elements compared with their host star, indicating large amounts of solid material were incorporated during their formation and the level of heavy-element enrichment is difficult to reconcile with some classical formation models.
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