HIP 13044 B - A Giant Planet From Another Galaxy

Astronomers have spotted an new planet, called HIP 13044 B, which has somehow made its way into our Galaxy.

The strange planet has been discovered by scientists with the help of the European Southern Observatory's La Silla telescope in Chile.

The new planet is orbiting a decaying star at the edge of the Milky Way. This is the first time that a planet has been discovered from outside our Galaxy.

The planet is about 25% larger than Jupiter and it is about 2,000 light years from Earth.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="380" caption="HIP 13044 B orbiting around his star (the planet is the little dot to the right). Image: ESO / L. Calçada"][/caption]

A dwarf galaxy has been swallowed up by our own galaxy billions of years ago and this planet belonged to that system and has somehow survived.

An article about this giant new planet of extragalactic origin has been published today in Science Express.