A Team of Astronomers Uncovers an Unusual Planetary System Challenging Ideas About Planet Formation Astronomers have long theorized about how planets are born and what makes them tick. Now, a team of astronomers led by Carnegie's Shubham Kanodia has uncovered an unusual planetary system, challenging long-held ideas about planet formation. The team's findings were recently published in The Astronomical Journal. The team discovered a large gas giant planet orbiting a small red dwarf star called TOI-5205. Such a large gas giant planet around a star of such a small size is highly unusual and has rarely been seen before. The team made the discovery using the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission, which uses high-precision cameras to search for planets using the transit method. The transit method involves looking for dips in a star's brightness, which occur when a planet passes between the star and the observer. These dips in brightness allow scientists to determine the size and orbital period of the planet associated with them. “Stars smaller than 0.4 solar masses, like TOI-5205, are not expected to host gas giant planets,” explained Kanodia. “These stars are too small in mass and size to accrete the large amounts of gas needed to form a gas giant planet. This makes the discovery of this planet particularly exciting.” Kanodia and his team believe that the newly discovered planet, which is about the size of Jupiter, may have formed in a more distant part of the system, away from the star, before moving closer. One possible explanation for this is that the planet’s gravity interacted with other, smaller bodies in the system, causing the planet to move closer to the star over time. The team also believes that the star TOI-5205 may have had more planets and moons than just the one they managed to detect. “We can’t directly observe the other planets and moons,” Kanodia explained, “but if they exist, they must have had an effect on the orbit of the discovered planet.” The discovery of this unusual system is likely to lead to further research, as astronomers attempt to unravel how this gas giant managed to form and why it moved closer to its star. Overall, the discovery of this unusual planetary system is an exciting step forward for the field of astronomy. It not only provides researchers with an opportunity to test their theories about planet formation, but it also poses many new questions about the origins of this system and the composition of its planets. With further research and technology advancements, who knows what other secrets the stars will reveal?
https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/forbidden-planet-orbiting-small-star-challenges-gas-giant-formation-theories
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