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2 Planets Can Share the Same Orbit, In 3 Different Ways

StartsWithABang writes: One of the most important characteristics of a planet, at least according to the IAU definition, is that it clear its orbit of all other bodies. But if we allowed for a special caveat — the possibility of two similarly-sized objects sharing the same orbit — could we have a stable configuration where that occurred? Surprisingly, not only is the answer yes, but there are three ways to do it: to have one at the L4/L5 Lagrange point of the other, to have a close-orbiting binary planet, or to have orbit-swapping worlds, where they periodically change spots with one another. Unbelievably, our Solar System has a history of all three!

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  1. Re:Astronomers don't want you to know this neat tr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    How many different ways are there to rehash shit that everybody knew since forever into crappy clickbait articles?

    This. Seriously, I'm getting sick of having Ethan's blog everywhere I go. Guy's good at manipulating social media, but there's nothing on any of his post that isn't just a rehash of things that Slashdot and other tech/science blogs have already linked to years ago.