How should I interpret 一个颗状星的行星?

Question

这个概念在汪淼的头脑中萦绕。为什么那个世界的太阳运行会没有规律？一个颗状星的行星，不管其运行轨道是正圆还是偏长的椭圆，其围绕恒星的运动一定是周期性的，全无规律的运行是不可能的……汪淼突然对自己很恼火，他使劲地摇头想赶走头脑中的这一切，不过是个游戏嘛，但他失败了。
_{刘慈欣,《三体》 (see e.g. this)}

I'm not sure how to interpret 一个颗状星的行星 in the above. Google Translate gives me "a star-shaped planet". Although the context is suggesting a meaning more along the lines of "a satellite-state planet." Or maybe it's just a typo.

Question: How should I interpret 一个颗状星的行星?

Answer 1

According to the answer given on 知乎.com, "一个颗状星的行星，不管其运行轨道...." is a typeset mistake. The correct sentence is "一个恒星的行星，不管其运行轨道……".

Note, 行星 (planet, such as earth, moon) is a star circling the 恒星 (fixed star - sun, for instance) in a regular path and speed.

Answer 2

一个[颗状星]的行星，不管其运行轨道是正圆还是偏长的椭圆，其围绕[恒星]的运动一定是周期性的，全无规律的运行是不可能的

• 一个[颗状星]的行星 = a [granular star]'s planet

• 其围绕[恒星]的运动一定是周期性的 = which motion around the [star] must be periodic

其(which) refers to 行星 (planet)

颗状星 and 恒星 are the same things in these sentences.

Most likely, 颗状星 is a typo, replace it with 恒星 would solve the mystery

一个[恒星]的行星，不管其运行轨道是正圆还是偏长的椭圆，其围绕[恒星]的运动一定是周期性的，全无规律的运行是不可能的

Actually, it is simpler to write:

一颗行星，不管其运行轨道是正圆还是偏长的椭圆，其围绕恒星的运动一定是周期性的，全无规律的运行是不可能的

The term 行星 (planet) already indicated it belongs to a 恒星 (star), no need to mention "a star's" in "a planet"

Answer 3

I don't think it's a typo.

颗 in Chinese has a meaning of small and round stuff, such as a small and round particle, so 颗状星 means a star like a small and round particle.

According to the context, it says the planet's motion around the sun must be periodic, so 颗状星的行星 just means a planet, and 颗状星 just emphasizes the condition of planet's periodic motion, that is, if the planet is small enough compared to the sun, the planet's motion must be periodic.

Answer 4

颗状星 is definitely a typing mistake, I have read threebodyproblems many times, and I'm sure that there's no such thing. And in my whole life, I have never heard anyone using that weird word.