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Massive Exoplanet Evolved In Extreme 4-Star System

Posted by samzenpus on from the four-is-better-than-one dept.

astroengine writes "For only the second time, an exoplanet living with an expansive family of four stars has been revealed. The exoplanet, which is a huge gaseous world 10 times the mass of Jupiter, was previously known to occupy a 3-star system, but a fourth star (a red dwarf) has now been found, revealing quadruple star systems possessing planets are more common than we thought. "About four percent of solar-type stars are in quadruple systems, which is up from previous estimates because observational techniques are steadily improving," said co-author Andrei Tokovinin of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The whole 4-star family is collectively known as 30 Ari, located some 136 light-years from Earth — in our interstellar backyard. The exoplanet orbits the primary star of the system once every 335 days. The primary star has a new-found binary partner (which the exoplanet does not orbit) and this pair are locked in an orbital dance with a secondary binary, separated by a distance of 1,670 astronomical unit (AU), where 1 AU is the average distance between the Earth and sun.

26 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. You know you thought of Serenity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The moment you read the description of the star system and its location. At least I did.

    1. Re:You know you thought of Serenity by skids · · Score: 1

      Actually Contact came to mind. "A triple, no, quadruple system. Oh, it's beautiful."

      --
      Someone had to do it.
  2. Another way new stars are born? by Baussian · · Score: 1

    Maybe this planet swallowed its neighboring planets over time when their orbits became unstable in such a complex system, hence it's so massive?
    Could this in turn become another star once it has acquired enough mass to jump start nuclear fusion?

    P.S. Feel free to RTFA me!

    1. Re:Another way new stars are born? by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There's a debate about what constitutes a "brown dwarf", but if you go with the school of thought that it had to have some amount fusion going in the past, this thing would be just a wee bit too light at 10 Jupiter mass, but over 13 is needed for fusion.

  3. "evolved" by Rob+Bos · · Score: 2

    I wish writers wouldn't say "evolved" when they mean "formed" or perhaps "developed".

    1. Re:"evolved" by Shakrai · · Score: 1

      Biology doesn't have exclusive claim to the noun evolution:

      "a process of change in a certain direction"
      "a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state"

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    2. Re:"evolved" by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      I wish writers wouldn't say "evolved" when they mean "formed" or perhaps "developed".

      It's their methodology.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  4. I support traditional orbital mechanics by Jeremi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where I come from, a solar system is defined as the union of one sun and a few planets.

    We don't go in for that kinky multi-stellar shit.

    --


    I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    1. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by trout007 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not from Utah I guess?

      --
      I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
    2. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      N-body relationships are stable as long as they can be dynamically hierarchized into a binary tree. So suck it up, you geocentrist! Go sacrifice a sheep or something.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      You'd have to redefine gender, as planets are "she" (mother earth), and generally stars are "he" by inference.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    4. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by fisted · · Score: 1

      Yeahh. Especially Venus.

      --
      CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
    5. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by fisted · · Score: 1

      Eh, nvm that, I suck cock.

      --
      CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
  5. How you know SlashDot is dumbing down by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> where 1 AU is the average distance between the Earth and sun

    this

    1. Re:How you know SlashDot is dumbing down by Shakrai · · Score: 1

      How many parsecs does it take to travel that distance?

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    2. Re:How you know SlashDot is dumbing down by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

      If you're in a hurry, you can cover that distance in just 0.00000484 parsecs

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  6. I wonder if there are any smaller planets by MrKaos · · Score: 2
    And if there is anything at the centre point between the two binary stars.

    this is pretty wow to me!!

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:I wonder if there are any smaller planets by captainpanic · · Score: 1

      I think the center point between the stars is not a stable place for anything to hang out. A little move in either way will increase gravity's pull in that same direction, and therefore will pull whatever object there is towards the nearest star. Only active controls can maintain an object there.

  7. Exoplanet ... gaseous world 10x Jupiter by Nutria · · Score: 1

    That looks a whole lot like a Brown Dwarf to me.

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    1. Re:Exoplanet ... gaseous world 10x Jupiter by Neil+Boekend · · Score: 1

      Indeed. The difference between brown dwarves and planets is under discussion. See the wikipedia page.
      At 13 Jupiter masses fusion is sustainable. I agree with those who say that we shouldn't call it a star below that threshold. This object is 3 Jupiter masses below it.

      --
      Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
    2. Re:Exoplanet ... gaseous world 10x Jupiter by abies · · Score: 1

      From wiki about the planet itself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3...
      "This planet has minimum mass nearly 10 times that of Jupiter. Because inclination is not known, its true mass is unknown."

      Maybe we can make it go up to 13? ;)

  8. K-PAX by pr0t0 · · Score: 1

    Actually, I was thinking of the scene in K-PAX where Kevin Spacey shows the astrophysicists how the celestial mechanics of his multi-stellar system worked.

    --
    I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
  9. Welcome to the exciting world of Trisolarium! by Cyberax · · Score: 1

    Welcome to the exciting world of Trisolarium!

  10. Seeing planetary orbits in a multiple-star system by moloney · · Score: 1

    "The exoplanet orbits the primary star of the system ... The primary star has a new-found binary partner (which the exoplanet does not orbit) and this pair are locked in an orbital dance with a secondary binary..."

    Is there a graphical simulation of this? I would love to see this and the other possible planetary orbits that could occur in a multiple-star system.

  11. Re:And pluto isnt...? by fisted · · Score: 1

    Stop feeding the trolls. It's dumb.

    --
    CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
  12. Plan your vacation to 30 Ari now! by Zephyn · · Score: 2

    Regardless of where you're staying, it's all four star accommodations.