Astronomers have discovered a six-pack of planets, formed at least 4 billion years ago and remarkably unchanged since, orbiting a nearby sun-like star.
This striking reminder that mathematics governs the universe comes with another implication, which is that these six planets have been in a stable, predictable, two-by-three orbital pattern since they were formed at least 4 billion years ago.
The resonant orbits of these planets are consistent with the idea that this system has been free of any major disturbance — say, a catastrophic impact, or the close passage of another star — for billions of years.
This unusual orbital pattern is prominent in the grabby title of the new paper: “A resonant sextuplet of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright star HD 110067.”
“Occasionally, nature reveals an absolute gem,” Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science at MIT and a co-author of the new paper, said in an email.
This new planetary system will get a close look from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which orbits the sun about a million miles from Earth and is designed to glean information about the atmospheres of exoplanets.
The original article contains 967 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Astronomers have discovered a six-pack of planets, formed at least 4 billion years ago and remarkably unchanged since, orbiting a nearby sun-like star.
This striking reminder that mathematics governs the universe comes with another implication, which is that these six planets have been in a stable, predictable, two-by-three orbital pattern since they were formed at least 4 billion years ago.
The resonant orbits of these planets are consistent with the idea that this system has been free of any major disturbance — say, a catastrophic impact, or the close passage of another star — for billions of years.
This unusual orbital pattern is prominent in the grabby title of the new paper: “A resonant sextuplet of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright star HD 110067.”
“Occasionally, nature reveals an absolute gem,” Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science at MIT and a co-author of the new paper, said in an email.
This new planetary system will get a close look from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which orbits the sun about a million miles from Earth and is designed to glean information about the atmospheres of exoplanets.
The original article contains 967 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!