Simulation of orbits of 6 planets around the central star
Astronomers have used two satellites dubbed "planet hunters" - NASA's TESS and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cheops - to solve a mystery of the universe and help find a rare solar system located about 100 light years from Earth.
The orbits of the six planets are centered around the star HD110067, similar to the sun, and located in the constellation Coma Berenices in the northern sky.
Larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, the above planets all belong to a class of little-known planets, called sub-Neptunes.
The term sub-Neptune is used to refer to a planet with a radius smaller than Neptune, although its mass may be higher, or to a planet with a mass smaller than Neptune but a larger radius.
And the planets, named b through g, orbit their central stars in a dance that researchers call "primordial."
Primitive dance
According to a report published in the journal Nature , the team of astronomers discovered that the planets move in a clear pattern and exert gravitational forces on each other.
Specifically, after the closest planet b completes 6 orbits around the central star, the outermost planet g will complete its orbit.
When planet c completes 3 orbits, planet d completes exactly 2 orbits. And when planet e completes 4 orbits, planet f completes 3 orbits.
The above harmony creates a resonance chain, with all six planets aligning again after a few orbits.
What makes the planetary family "unique" is that every movement seems to remain the same as when it was first formed more than 1 billion years ago.
What happened showed that the star system seemed to be still in a stable state, not affected by external forces.
Studying the star system HD110067 promises to allow astronomers to solve the secrets of the planets in our solar system.
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