by Rachel Kaufman
Published in National Geographic News
2009-08-17

Contrary to a recent TV cell phone ad, Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t likely to set up shop in space any time soon.

But if it did, the donut chain might like to build next to WASP-17b, a newfound planet that’s puffed up to be roughly as dense as a foam coffee cup.

WASP-17b orbits a star about a thousand light-years away. In addition to its exceptionally low density, the planet is one of the largest yet found.

“When I first saw that this thing might have a radius twice that of Jupiter, I was really astounded,” said David Anderson of Keele University, a member of the U.K.-based Wide Area Search for Planets (WASP) consortium.

WASP-17b probably got so big because of its unusual orbit, Anderson and colleagues say in a new paper describing the find.

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