Newly Discovered Planets Have 3-Day Year
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of two giant planets orbiting distant stars with a remarkably short three-day year. The discovery, led by a University of Tasmania PhD candidate, provides new insights into planetary migration and formation.
Why it matters
Studying rare, 'hot' giant planets helps scientists understand the diversity of planetary systems and the mechanisms behind their evolution.
Thomas Plunkett spent two years working out whether three possible planets detected around distant stars were really there. Two were.
The University of Tasmania astronomer and School of Natural Sciences PhD candidate led follow-up observations from Greenhill Observatory in Tasmania's Midlands, helping confirm two giant planets on orbits unlike anything in our solar system. Each circles its star in about three days.
The work marks the first time in a decade that observations from a Tasmanian observatory have played a key role in confirming new planets beyond our solar system.
The possible planets were first identified by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which searches for tiny, regular dips in starlight that may occur when a planet passes in front of its star.
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