Rebellious Exoplanet Orbits Star in Reverse Direction

Using the NIRPS infrared spectrograph, an international team led by UNIGE was able to identify the unique orbit of the exoplanet GJ 3090 b.

An international team led by the Department of Astronomy at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has determined the orbital configuration of the exoplanet GJ 3090 b using the NIRPS spectrograph, partly built in Geneva. The planet is highly misaligned and orbits in the opposite direction to the rotation of its star. This puzzle is all the more challenging for astronomers because there is no massive companion in this planetary system capable of influencing the planet's orbit and thus explaining this configuration. The results are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.