An unusual system of planets has been discovered. It hasn’t changed in billions of years!

• The European Cheops Space Observatory discovered an unusual system that includes six planets that have remained unchanged since their formation billions of years ago.

• These planets are in orbital resonance, which means that the periods of their orbits around the star are in numerical proportions.

• The closest planet to the star completes its orbit in just over 9 days, the next planet completes its orbit in just over 13.7 days, and the next one in 20.5 days.

• The discovery of the resonance system is of particular importance because planetary systems often begin their lives this way.

• It is the second system that includes six resonant planets to be discovered by the Khufu satellite.

Related to this discovery Planetary system Around the star HD110067 in the constellation Coma Berenice, 100 light-years from Earth. Earlier in 2020, the US Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observed fluctuations in the star’s brightness, indicating the presence of planets passing in front of it. However, these analyzes were contradictory, which prompted researchers to use them Khufu Satellite.

Raphael Luke of the University of Chicago and his team used data from Khufu to further investigate the planetary system around HD110067.

Their analyzes led to the discovery of a third planet in this system, and also revealed the existence of them all The three planets move in orbital resonance. This means that their orbital periods are synchronized, with the closest planet orbiting the star in just over 9 days, the next planet in over 13.7 days, and the next planet in 20.5 days.

What did scientists discover?

This discovery is particularly important because planetary systems often begin their existence as resonant, but over time they become more resonant. To be upset.

Thanks to Khufu, scientists were able to see the primitive natural formation of this planetary system He survived intact For billions of years. Khufu, just three years after its launch, once again surprised the scientific community by revealing the second known six-planet resonance system. Of the three known cases.

As our science team says: Khufu makes extraordinary discoveries seem ordinary. Of the three hexaplanetary resonance systems already known, this is the second discovered by Khufu. The satellite achieved this in just three years of operation

– says Maximilian Günther, a scientist from the Cheops mission team at the European Space Agency.

summary:

This discovery is further evidence that planetary systems can form into very complex configurations. The HD110067 system may be a valuable source of information about the early evolution of planetary systems.

Source: Niezalezna.pl, PAP, Nature.com

#planets #planetary system

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