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First multi-planet solar system spotted
Wednesday August 29, 2012 01:41:37 PM,
IANS
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Washington: Astronomers have spotted the first-ever multi-planet solar system
orbiting a binary star, with the help of two telescopes in Texas.
The discovery by astronomers from Texas-Austin and San Diego State
Universities proves that whole planetary systems can form in a
disk around a binary (twin) star.
Measurements of the star's orbits from McDonald's Observatory
showed that daylight on the planets would vary by a large margin
over the 7.4-earth-day period as the two stars completed their
mutual orbits, each moving closer to, then farther from, the
planets (which are themselves moving), the journal Science
reports.
"It's Tatooine, right?" said McDonald Observatory astronomer
Michael Endl.
"But this was not shown in 'Star Wars'," he said, referring to the
periodic changes in the amount of daylight falling on a planet
with two suns, according to a Texas statement.
(Tatooine is name of the first planet in the binary Tatoo star
system of the film series "Star Wars").
"The challenging thing is that this is a very faint star, about
6,000 times dimmer than can be seen with the naked eye," Endl
said.
The binary star is called Kepler-47. The primary star is about the
same mass as the sun, and its companion is an M-dwarf star
one-third its size. The inner planet is three times the size of
earth and orbits the binary star every 49.5 days, while the outer
planet is 4.6 times the size of earth with an orbit of 303.2 days.
The outer planet is the first planet found to orbit a binary star
within the "habitable zone," where liquid water could exist and
thus create a home for life.
However, the planet's size (about the same as Uranus) means that
it is an icy giant, and not an abode for life.
The combination of observations from the NASA mission and McDonald
Observatory allowed astronomers to understand the characteristics
of Kepler-47's two stars and two planets.
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