Current:Home > StocksA six-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way-LoTradeCoin
A six-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way
View Date:2024-12-23 22:13:10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago.
The find, announced Wednesday, can help explain how solar systems across the Milky Way galaxy came to be. This one is 100 light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.
A pair of planet-hunting satellites — NASA’s Tess and the European Space Agency’s Cheops — teamed up for the observations.
None of the planets in perfect synchrony are within the star’s so-called habitable zone, which means little if any likelihood of life, at least as we know it.
“Here we have a golden target” for comparison, said Adrien Leleu of the University of Geneva, who was part of an international team that published the results in the journal Nature.
This star, known as HD 110067, may have even more planets. The six found so far are roughly two to three times the size of Earth, but with densities closer to the gas giants in our own solar system. Their orbits range from nine to 54 days, putting them closer to their star than Venus is to the sun and making them exceedingly hot.
As gas planets, they’re believed to have solid cores made of rock, metal or ice, enveloped by thick layers of hydrogen, according to the scientists. More observations are needed to determine what’s in their atmospheres.
This solar system is unique because all six planets move similar to a perfectly synchronized symphony, scientists said. In technical terms, it’s known as resonance that’s “precise, very orderly,” said co-author Enric Palle of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
The innermost planet completes three orbits for every two by its closest neighbor. It’s the same for the second- and third-closest planets, and the third- and fourth-closest planets.
The two outermost planets complete an orbit in 41 and 54.7 days, resulting in four orbits for every three. The innermost planet, meanwhile, completes six orbits in exactly the time the outermost completes one.
All solar systems, including our own, are thought to have started out like this one, according to the scientists. But it’s estimated only 1-in-100 systems have retained that synchrony, and ours isn’t one of them. Giant planets can throw things off-kilter. So can meteor bombardments, close encounters with neighboring stars and other disturbances.
While astronomers know of 40 to 50 in-sync solar systems, none have as many planets in such perfect step or as bright a star as this one, Palle said.
The University of Bern’s Hugh Osborn, who was part of the team, was “shocked and delighted” when the orbital periods of this star system’s planets came close to what scientists predicted.
“My jaw was on the floor,” he said. “That was a really nice moment.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
- With ugly start, the Houston Astros' AL dynasty is in danger. But they know 'how to fight back'
- Celebrity handbag designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
- Kevin Costner 'loved' John Mulaney's 'Field of Dreams' Oscars bit: 'He was a genius'
- Martin Scorsese on the saints, faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be
- ‘Civil War’ continues box-office campaign at No. 1
- Columbia cancels in-person classes and Yale protesters are arrested as Mideast war tensions grow
- Local election workers fear threats to their safety as November nears. One group is trying to help
- How to Build Your Target Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Budget-Friendly Must-Haves for Effortless Style
- Yoko Ono to receive Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement
Ranking
- Don't Miss Cameron Diaz's Return to the Big Screen Alongside Jamie Foxx in Back in Action Trailer
- QSCHAINCOIN Review: Ideal for Altcoin Traders
- Stephanie Sparks, longtime host of Golf Channel's reality series 'Big Break,' dies at 50
- In Wyoming, a Tribe and a City Pursue Clean Energy Funds Spurned by the Governor
- Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
- What we know about the shooting of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scam surrounding it
- Shooting at Memphis block party leaves 2 dead and 6 injured
- Opening a Qschaincoin Account
Recommendation
-
Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
-
2nd former Arkansas officer pleads guilty to civil rights charge from violent arrest caught on video
-
Qschaincoin: Are Bitcoin and Gold Good Investments?
-
What do otters eat? Here's what's on the menu for river vs sea otters.
-
Conviction and 7-year sentence for Alex Murdaugh’s banker overturned in appeal of juror’s dismissal
-
Tesla cuts the price of its “Full Self Driving” system by a third to $8,000
-
Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds talks new album ‘Loom’ — ‘Heavy concepts but playful at the same time’
-
Mike Tyson appraises shirtless Ryan Garcia before fight: 'Have you been eating bricks?'