Astronomers from around the world have made an exciting new discovery—a multiplanetary system that resembles the famous fictional world of Tatooine!
Led by researchers at the University of Birmingham, the team has named the newly discovered planet BEBOP-1c, after the project that collected the data.
In 2020, scientists detected the first planet in this remarkable system, called TOI-1338b, using NASA’s TESS space telescope.
TOI-1338b stood out because it passed in front of the brighter of the two stars in the system, a phenomenon known as a transit. However, crucial information about its mass was missing.
Dr. Matthew Standing, the lead author of the study, explains that TOI-1338b’s mass is a fundamental parameter that remained unknown.
Undeterred, the team employed another technique called the Doppler method, or the “wobble” method, to study the system.
This method involves measuring the velocity of stars with great precision. By employing cutting-edge instruments on telescopes situated in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the astronomers aimed to determine the mass of TOI-1338b.
Despite their efforts, they were unable to achieve this goal. However, their hard work bore fruit as they made an unexpected discovery—a second planet named BEBOP-1c.
BEBOP-1c, with a mass 65 times greater than Earth, orbits the twin stars at the center of the system every 215 days.
While this new planet’s size remains unknown, the team plans to utilize the transit method, the same technique used to measure TOI-1338b’s size, to determine BEBOP-1c’s dimensions.
Circumbinary systems, like this one, where planets orbit around two stars instead of one, are incredibly rare. Only 12 such systems have been discovered so far, and TOI-1338/BEBOP-1 is only the second known system with multiple planets. These systems play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of planet formation.
Explaining the significance, Dr. Lalitha Sairam, a researcher from the University of Birmingham, points out that planets are formed from a disk of material surrounding a young star.
In circumbinary systems, the disk encompasses both stars, providing researchers with valuable insights into the conditions necessary for planet formation.
Though the team faced challenges during their observations, including a six-month interruption due to the COVID pandemic, they managed to confirm the existence of BEBOP-1c when the telescopes in Chile reopened.
While scientists are still unraveling the mysteries of this unique planetary system, the discovery of TOI-1338b opens doors for further studies.
This planet’s density, lower than that of a Victoria sponge cake, makes it an excellent candidate for future investigations with the James Webb space telescope. Such observations might reveal the chemical environment in which this rare circumbinary planet took shape.
As we delve deeper into the wonders of the cosmos, each new discovery brings us closer to understanding the mysteries of our universe.
The BEBOP-1 system, with its Tatooine-like charm, adds another chapter to the fascinating story of celestial exploration.
This extraordinary finding, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, is only the second of its kind ever observed.
