Janson and his team now intend to expand on a survey which is examining 85 similar stars. "This large distance from the central pair of stars could be key to the planet’s survival," it said. The observatory further noted that the planet's orbit is 100 times greater than the distance between Jupiter and the sun, making it "one of the widest yet discovered." "B-type stars are generally considered as quite destructive and dangerous environments, so it was believed that it should be exceedingly difficult to form large planets around them." The study’s leader, Markus Janson, who is a professor of astronomy at Stockholm University, said that the discovery "completely changes the picture about massive stars as planet hosts." It emits large amounts of high-energy ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, which the observatory explains has "a strong impact on the surrounding gas that should work against planet formation." The "B-type" dual star, which is extremely massive and hot, sits at the center of a solar system in the Centaurus constellation. "Until now, no planets had been spotted around a star more than three times as massive as the sun," the observatory wrote in a research article published Wednesday, according to NBC News. What makes the discovery even more unique is that it was found in an environment previously thought to be too inhospitable for a planet to form in. Named "b Centauri (AB)b," or "b Centauri b," this exoplanet is one of the "most massive planets ever found," according to the European Southern Observatory, which was cited by NBC News. Scientists have discovered a giant planet said to be 10 times the size of Jupiter orbiting a pair of massive stars.
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