Strange 'twin' new worlds found

[OXO]

Strange 'twin' new worlds found

A pair of strange new worlds that blur the boundaries between planets and stars have been discovered beyond our Solar System.

A few dozen such objects have been identified in recent years but this is the first set of "twins".

Dubbed "planemos", they circle each other rather than orbiting a star.

Their existence challenges current theories about the formation of planets and stars, astronomers report in the journal Science.

"This is a truly remarkable pair of twins - each having only about 1% the mass of our Sun," said Ray Jayawardhana of the University of Toronto, co-author of the Science paper.

"Its mere existence is a surprise, and its origin and fate a bit of a mystery."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5241774.stm for the full story.

James