Six planets that orbit their central star rhythmically have been found by astronomers in a nearby star system. This is an incredibly rare occurrence. The movements of the planets follow a precise pattern that can be synchronized with music.
The six planets revolve around a star in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices called HD110067, which is located roughly 100 light-years from Earth. The star’s brightness dropped in 2020, which was noted by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), suggesting that planets were passing in front of the star.
A group of scientists integrated information from TESS and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Cheops (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) to find a previously unobserved planetary configuration.
Although multiplanet systems are common in our galaxy, they are rarely observed when they are arranged in a tight gravitational formation called a “resonance.”
In this instance, one planet orbits the star three times for every two orbits made by the next closest planet. Known as a 3/2 resonance, it occurs twice amongst the four nearest planets. A 4/3 resonance pattern was found between the two outermost ones, which indicates that one orbits the outermost one every three orbits.
Astronomers can learn a great deal about the formation and evolution of planetary systems from such “orbitally resonant” systems. Planets around stars usually form in resonance, though this can be easily broken.
A once-balanced planetary system can be upset by a massive planet, a close encounter with a passing star, or even a massive impact. Because of this, a large number of multiplanet systems appear to have been in resonance at some point in the past even though they are not in resonance.
Six planets that orbit their central star rhythmically have been found by astronomers in a nearby star system. This is an incredibly rare occurrence. The movements of the planets follow a precise pattern that can be synchronized with music.
The six planets revolve around a star in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices called HD110067, which is located roughly 100 light-years from Earth. The star’s brightness dropped in 2020, which was noted by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), suggesting that planets were passing in front of the star.
A group of scientists integrated information from TESS and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Cheops (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) to find a previously unobserved planetary configuration. Although multiplanet systems are common in our galaxy, they are rarely observed when they are arranged in a tight gravitational formation called a “resonance.”