Discover an exoplanet orbiting two stars, like Tatooine in the Star Wars universe

A rare exoplanet orbiting two stars has been discovered using a ground-based telescope by a team from Birmingham University.

Tatooine, the fictional desert planet from Star Wars

A rare exoplanet, called Kepler-16b that has been identified so far by the Kepler space telescope, orbits two stars, which orbit each other, forming a binary star system, like Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine, in the Star Wars universe, where there will be two sunsets The sun if you can look at the sky from its surface.

Kepler-16b was discovered again using a ground-based 193 cm telescope by researchers at the University of Birmingham, and was observed by observing changes in radial velocity, a method that allows us to show the change in a star’s velocity as a planet orbits around it. . In addition to detecting the presence of the planet, the radial velocity method is also more sensitive to additional planets in the system, in addition to measuring the mass of the planet, which is its most basic characteristic.

After demonstrating that the Kepler-16b binary system can be detected using the radial velocity method, the team plans to continue the search for new and unknown circular systems and help answer questions about planet formation. Planet formation is generally believed to occur in a protoplanetary disk, a mass of dust and gas surrounding a young star.

However, this process may not be possible in a binary system. This is because the presence of two stars interferes with the protoplanetary disk, preventing dust from clumping into the planets, a process called accretion. ” The planet may have formed far from the two stars, where their influence is weaker, and then moved inward. – at A process called disk-driven migration, editor – said Amory Triud of the University of Birmingham, which owns the studio -. TheAlternatively, we may find that we need to review our understanding of the process of planetary accretion.“.