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this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2023
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Astronomy
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So we can deduce that the density and volume of the gas envelope is a function of the mass of the planet, the temperature of the star and the distance of the planet's orbit. This would mean, generally, that rocky planets are most common closer to the star than gas giants, and so the configuration we see here is not uncommon. This would also mean an earth sized planet occupying an orbit a little farther out would be bigger with a larger gas envelope, and that in our orbit the planet would be bigger and have one.
That is an interesting observation. This means that dwarf stars, which are much more common than a star like the sun, are very unlikely to have a rocky planet with the same size and orbit of Earth. But a giant star like Betelgeuse might have a rocky planet much bigger than Earth. Although a full orbit of Betelgeuse would take a long time.