Astronomers may have discovered first planet to orbit 3 stars
Potential discovery of a circumtriple planet has implications for
bolstering our understanding of planet formation

Date:
October 2, 2021
Source:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Summary:
In a distant star system -- a mere 1,300 light years away from
Earth - - researchers may have identified the first known planet
to orbit three stars.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In a distant star system -- a mere 1,300 light years away from Earth --
UNLV researchers and colleagues may have identified the first known
planet to orbit three stars.


========================================================================== Unlike our solar system, which consists of a solitary star, it is believed
that half of all star systems, like GW Ori where astronomers observed the
novel phenomenon, consist of two or more stars that are gravitationally
bound to each other.

But no planet orbiting three stars -- a circumptriple orbit -- has ever
been discovered. Perhaps until now.

Takeaways Using observations from the powerful Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, UNLV astronomers analyzed
the three observed dust rings around the three stars, which are critical
to forming planets.

But they found a substantial, yet puzzling, gap in the circumtriple disc.

The research team investigated different origins, including the
possibility that the gap was created by gravitational torque from the
three stars. But after constructing a comprehensive model of GW Ori,
they found that the more likely, and fascinating, explanation for
the space in the disc is the presence of one or more massive planets, Jupiter-like in nature. Gas giants, according to Jeremy Smallwood, lead
author and a recent Ph.D. graduate in astronomy from UNLV, are usually
the first planets to form within a star system. Terrestrial planets like
Earth and Mars follow.

The planet itself cannot be seen, but the finding -- highlighted in
a September study in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society -- suggests that this is the first circumtriple planet ever
discovered. Further observations from the ALMA telescope are expected in
the coming months, which could provide direct evidence of the phenomenon.

"It's really exciting because it makes the theory of planet
formation really robust," Smallwood said. "It could mean that planet
formation is much more active than we thought, which is pretty cool." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided
by University_of_Nevada,_Las_Vegas. Original written by Natalie
Bruzda. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jeremy L Smallwood, Rebecca Nealon, Cheng Chen, Rebecca G Martin,
Jiaqing
Bi, Ruobing Dong, Christophe Pinte. GW Ori: circumtriple rings
and planets. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
2021; 508 (1): 392 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab2624 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211002123017.htm

--- up 4 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, 25 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)