By The Financial District
Dec 1, 20231 min
Astronomers have used two different exoplanet-detecting satellites to solve a cosmic mystery and reveal a rare family of six planets located about 100 light-years from Earth.
The discovery could help scientists unlock the secrets of planet formation
The discovery could help scientists unlock the secrets of planet formation, as reported by Ashley Strickland for CNN.
The six exoplanets orbit a bright star similar to the sun named HD110067, located in the Coma Berenices constellation in the northern sky. Larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, the planets are in a little-understood class called sub-Neptunes, commonly found orbiting sunlike stars in the Milky Way.
The planets, labeled b through g, revolve around the star in a celestial dance known as orbital resonance.
There are discernible patterns as the planets complete their orbits and exert gravitational forces on one another, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
For every six orbits completed by planet b, the closest planet to the star, the outermost planet g completes one. As planet c makes three revolutions around the star, planet d does two, and when planet e completes four orbits, planet f does three.
This harmonic rhythm creates a resonant chain, with all six planets aligning every few orbits.