Planet Orbiting Two Stars Found
Planet Orbiting Two Stars Found
Scientists using NASA's Kepler space telescope have found a planet in orbit around two different suns, indicating that the spectacular sight of two suns in the sky at the same time seen in “Star Wars” is indeed possible. The planet orbits a pair of binary stars in the Kepler-16 system, which is about 200 light-years away from the Earth. When “Star Wars” was released in 1977, fans were blown away by the sight of two suns sharing the sky on Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine, but scientists have long doubted the possibility of such a sight.
In honor of the cult-classic science-fiction film, scientists have unofficially named the new planet after Skywalker's home world, though its official name is Kepler-16(AB)-b. Thanks to the multiple images captured by Kepler, scientists have been able to ascertain a host of information about the system, including the masses, radii, and trajectories of the planet and both suns. The planet would not be able to support life as we know it, as it keeps a distance from the stars of about three-fourths the distance between Earth and the Sun. The planet is about the size of Saturn, but much denser.
Scientists have suspected the existence of planets orbiting binary stars before, but Kepler-16(AB)-b is the first to be discovered. These worlds are called circumbinary planets, and affect the gravity of the stars, affecting their orbits. Kepler-16(AB)-b was identified because its the first time a circumbinary planet has been seen passing directly in front of its stars.
Scientists using NASA's Kepler space telescope have found a planet in orbit around two different suns, indicating that the spectacular sight of two suns in the sky at the same time seen in “Star Wars” is indeed possible. The planet orbits a pair of binary stars in the Kepler-16 system, which is about 200 light-years away from the Earth. When “Star Wars” was released in 1977, fans were blown away by the sight of two suns sharing the sky on Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine, but scientists have long doubted the possibility of such a sight.
In honor of the cult-classic science-fiction film, scientists have unofficially named the new planet after Skywalker's home world, though its official name is Kepler-16(AB)-b. Thanks to the multiple images captured by Kepler, scientists have been able to ascertain a host of information about the system, including the masses, radii, and trajectories of the planet and both suns. The planet would not be able to support life as we know it, as it keeps a distance from the stars of about three-fourths the distance between Earth and the Sun. The planet is about the size of Saturn, but much denser.
Scientists have suspected the existence of planets orbiting binary stars before, but Kepler-16(AB)-b is the first to be discovered. These worlds are called circumbinary planets, and affect the gravity of the stars, affecting their orbits. Kepler-16(AB)-b was identified because its the first time a circumbinary planet has been seen passing directly in front of its stars.
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