helium planet

A helium planet is a theoretical type of planet that may form via mass loss from a low-mass white dwarf.

A helium planet might form in an environment where all the hydrogen has been processed to helium or other heavier elements by nuclear burning.

But helium planets heavier than 13 Jupiter masses will still be planets, not brown dwarfs, because they contain no deuterium and cannot fuse anything anymore.

Helium planets are predicted to be of roughly similar diameter to hydrogen/helium planets of the same mass.

He helped popularize the ideas of ocean planets, carbon planets, and Helium planets and made some of the first observations of a debris disk orbiting G29-38, a metal-rich White Dwarf.