The first hints of it came from NASA’s TESS (the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), which tracks the tiny eclipses – the “transits” – that planets make as they cross the faces of their stars. More precise measurements of these planets’ masses and orbits will be needed to further sharpen the picture of how the system formed.įun facts: The discovery of this system is something of a detective story. Its rigid stability was locked in early the planets’ 3/2 and 4/3 resonances are almost exactly as they were at the time of formation. And that, in turn, could say something important about how this system formed. Such reliable stability means this system has not suffered the shocks and shakeups scientists might typically expect in the early days of planet formation – smash-ups and collisions, mergers and breakups as planets jockey for position. And these resonant orbits are rock-solid: The planets likely have been performing this same rhythmic dance since the system formed billions of years ago. In this case, the planet closest to the star makes three orbits for every two of the next planet out – called a 3/2 resonance – a pattern that is repeated among the four closest planets.Īmong the outermost planets, a pattern of four orbits for every three of the next planet out (a 4/3 resonance) is repeated twice. Discovery Alert: Webb Maps and Finds Traces of Water in an Ultra-hot Gas Giant's Atmosphereĭetails: While multi-planet systems are common in our galaxy, those in a tight gravitational formation known as “resonance” are observed by astronomers far less often.
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