Exoplanet discovered moving in a shaky manner

September 5 () –

A small planet located 455 light years from Earth It shows a peculiar ‘shaky’ orbital motion due to the interaction with another larger planet in a very close orbit.

Their discovery demonstrates that planetary systems may be considerably more complex than researchers had previously thoughtaccording to the authors of the discovery, scientists from Lund University.

The newly discovered planet TOI-1408c has a mass equivalent to eight Earths and orbits very close to the hot gas giant TOI-1408b.

After beginning to study both planets and their star, TOI-1408, in detail, researchers were left perplexed. The small planet has a very peculiar orbital motion. The interactions between the two planets and their star can be compared to a rhythmic dance.

“The tiny planet displays very unusual orbital behavior and shows considerable variations relative to the timing of its passage in front of its star, something we don’t typically see. The existence of the tiny planet challenges existing theories about the formation and stability of planetary systems,” he says. in a statement Judith Korth, astrophysicist at Lund University and leader of the study.

The new study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Lettersshows that planetary systems may be considerably more complex than researchers had previously thought.

The discovery of a small planet between a star and a gas giant is rare and offers a unique case study for the development of planetary systems. This could help researchers better understand how planets form in other solar systems.

“Our results will help researchers learn more about how planets form and how they behave when they are very close to each other, particularly in systems with giant planets,” Korth says.

The discovery of the space oddity TOI-1408c by researchers was made possible by the NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)Since its launch in 2018, the satellite has observed more than 7,000 possible exoplanets.

“I hope that our results can be used in future studies to discover even more planets in other systems, but also to better understand the great variety of planetary systems that exist in our galaxy,” Korth concludes.