Out-of-this-World Discovery: Planet Hops, Sun Swaps!

14 Jun 2023

Out-of-this-World Discovery: Planet Hops, Sun Swaps!

Hold on to your space helmets, young astronomers! Prepare to be amazed as we dive into a galaxy far, far away. Astronomers have made an extraordinary discovery, not once but twice! They've found a star system with multiple planets, just like the famous planet Tatooine from Star Wars. It's not fiction anymore – it's science!
These special planets, called "Tatooine worlds" or circumbinary planets, are like cosmic twins, orbiting two stars in the same system. Imagine standing on one of these planets and looking up at the sky – you'd see not one, but two suns! That's double the fun, and double the sunsets, just like Luke Skywalker.
Important Details

The adventure began in 2011 when astronomers found the first Tatooine world, named Kepler-16b. Then, in 2012, they discovered Kepler-34b and Kepler-35b. Now, the count has reached an incredible 15 of these Tatooine worlds. The discovery was made by using special telescopes, like NASA's Kepler space telescope. 
In their latest quest, astronomers aimed their telescopes at a star system called BEBOP-1. It is located about 1,320 light-years away from us. Their mission was to study a planet called BEBOP-1b, but they stumbled upon an unexpected surprise – another planet!
This new planet, called BEBOP-1c, makes BEBOP-1 a "multi-planetary circumbinary system." Scientists estimate that BEBOP-1c is about 65 times heavier than Earth, while BEBOP-1b is similar in size to Saturn.
But the excitement doesn't end there! There's another star system called Kepler-47, discovered in 2012, which has not one, not two, but three exoplanets! It's like a whole planetary party going on around those twin stars.
This discovery has turned everything we knew about circumbinary planets upside down. They were once thought to be incredibly rare, but it turns out they're surprisingly common. With so many stars in our galaxy having twin companions, there could be thousands of these extraordinary worlds waiting to be found.
As astronomers continue their cosmic investigations, they hope to learn more about how these Tatooine worlds come into existence. Who knows? There might even be more hidden planets waiting to be discovered within the BEBOP-1 system. With new telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, the quest for knowledge will take us even deeper into the mysteries of the universe.

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These special planets, called “Tatooine worlds” or circumbinary planets, are like cosmic twins, orbiting two stars in the same system. Imagine standing on one of these planets and looking up at the sky – you’d see not one, but two suns! That’s double the fun, and double the sunsets, just like Luke Skywalker.

Important Details

The adventure began in 2011 when astronomers found the first Tatooine world, named Kepler-16b. Then, in 2012, they discovered Kepler-34b and Kepler-35b. Now, the count has reached an incredible 15 of these Tatooine worlds. The discovery was made by using special telescopes, like NASA’s Kepler space telescope.
In their latest quest, astronomers aimed their telescopes at a star system called BEBOP-1. It is located about 1,320 light-years away from us. Their mission was to study a planet called BEBOP-1b, but they stumbled upon an unexpected surprise – another planet!
This new planet, called BEBOP-1c, makes BEBOP-1 a “multi-planetary circumbinary system.” Scientists estimate that BEBOP-1c is about 65 times heavier than Earth, while BEBOP-1b is similar in size to Saturn.
But the excitement doesn’t end there! There’s another star system called Kepler-47, discovered in 2012, which has not one, not two, but three exoplanets! It’s like a whole planetary party going on around those twin stars.
This discovery has turned everything we knew about circumbinary planets upside down. They were once thought to be incredibly rare, but it turns out they’re surprisingly common. With so many stars in our galaxy having twin companions, there could be thousands of these extraordinary worlds waiting to be found.
As astronomers continue their cosmic investigations, they hope to learn more about how these Tatooine worlds come into existence. Who knows? There might even be more hidden planets waiting to be discovered within the BEBOP-1 system. With new telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, the quest for knowledge will take us even deeper into the mysteries of the universe.