Scientists discover 27 potential new planets that orbit two stars
5 hours ago
- #exoplanets
- #astronomy
- #space-discovery
- Astronomers discovered 27 new potential circumbinary planets orbiting two stars.
- The study used a method called 'apsidal precession' to detect wobbles in eclipsing binary star systems.
- Only about 18 such planets were previously known, compared to over 6,000 planets orbiting single stars.
- The candidate planets range from Neptune-sized to ten times Jupiter's mass and are 650 to 18,000 light-years away.
- Confirmation requires further research on the objects' spectra to determine their exact mass and nature.
- The findings were made using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
- Circumbinary planets may exist in 'sweet spots' where conditions could be habitable, similar to Tatooine from Star Wars.