On Nov. 18, 2010, astronomers have found a planet larger than the planet Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, located in the Milky Way. The planet was found in the Helmi Stream, a part of the Milky Way where a group of stars that originally were from a dwarf galaxy was swallowed up by the Milky Way. Astronomers believe this planet to be from a different galaxy which was consumed by our galaxy six to nine billion years ago.

According to some scientists, this planet should not have been formed from the beginning and find it unusual that it was created. The reason is because the planet’s parent sun, HIP 13044, is a poor metal star. According to a certain hypothesis on how planets form, stars rich in metal are more likely to have planets form compared to stars that are poor in metal like HIP 13044. Before this planet was discovered, this theory was backed up multiple times.

This planet HIP 13044b also revolves very close around its parent star, or its sun, HIP 13044.

Research Professor of Physics and Earth and Planetary Sciences of Washington University Ernst Zinner believes it holds no life forms at all.

“They are too close to their parent stars and are much too hot,” Zinner said.

In fact, at its closest distance to its sun, the planet comes within about five million miles. According to MSNBC, that is 5.5 percent of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

The planet’s sun has gone through its red giant stage already. In this stage, the sun expands and becomes a “giant” star.

“The star expands greatly so that the diameter of the star is at least as large as the orbit of the Earth,” Zinner said. “During that stage a star loses a lot of mass in the form of a stellar wind, material blowing from the surface of the star.”

Usually, when a star goes through this process, the planets orbiting around it are engulfed. Strangely enough, the planet HIP 13044b survived through this star stage. However, HIP 13044b’s sun is supposed to continue expanding, eventually engulfing HIP 13044b.

According to Science Daily, scientists believe that HIP 13044b was farther away from its sun before it entered its red giant stage. When it did hit this phase, it caused HIP 13044b to move inwards. This discovery could also be a hint to the future of the Earth and the solar system when our sun enters its red giant stage. Zinner believes that the Earth will most likely not survive when the sun becomes a red giant.

“The sun will extend all the way to the Earth,” Zinner said. “It will happen in about five billion years.”

As for the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, researchers believe that they will survive the sun’s first phase.

“Their gaseous parts are probably to be blown away,” Zinner said. “ Some of the cores might survive.”

In the end though, these gas planets will eventually be engulfed by our sun as it continues to expand just like HIP 13044b will be destroyed by its sun in the next five billion or so years. For the gas planets, though, this will not happen until about 10 billion years.