200 light years away, this odd circumbinary planet takes its cues from Star Wars
NASA's Kepler space telescope has just confirmed the existence of a space oddity that previously existed only in legend (and theory): a planet that orbits two stars rather than one. The system, known as Kepler-16, is located 200 light-years away in our galaxy. Through gravitational analyses, the planet (Kepler 16b) was found to be roughly the size of?Saturn,?and extremely cold ? not exactly conducive to life as we know it. The exciting discovery joins the ranks of the?50 new exoplanets added to the planetary canon earlier this week.
The two stars in the system are both smaller than our own sun, and the planet makes a wide orbit around both of them (as depicted in the videos below) ? perhaps not the figure 8 pattern you might have imagined. But there's plenty that's interesting about our new?circumbinary find, including its discovery through an odd pattern of eclipses. During each orbital period, one star blocks the light from its partner, causing two dips in the star system's observable light. Add in the planet, and you've got a third dimming ? but since the two stars also orbit each other, the timing of the eclipse-like pattern shifts over time, making it a very unusual find indeed.
The stellar system, the first of its kind ever solidly confirmed through direct observation, has already inspired plenty of?Star Wars references. In the iconic movie universe, the planet?Tatooine ? Luke Skywalker's home ? is part of a binary star system where two suns are often depicted setting on one horizon. Kepler-16b might not be habitable, but the discovery suggests there's plenty out there that can match up to our?wildest dreams ? and new?hyper-advanced telescope tech on the way next year?means we'll be more prepared to hunt it down than ever.
In the artist renderings below, you can get a sense of the Kepler-16b's odd orbital path around the sun-like two stars it calls home.??
Science Mag via?NASA,?Bad Astronomy
This article originally appeared on Tecca
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