A Discovery Reminiscent of Star Wars: Scientists Find a Tatooine-Esque Planet
A fan of Star Wars cannot evoke the image of Luke Skywalker without the notorious blue milk springing to mind. This iconic detail is a throwback to Luke’s home planet, Tatooine. In recent discovery, scientists believe they have found a planet remarkably similar to Tatooine.
Answering the burning question right away: just like Tatooine, the newly discovered planet possesses two suns in its sky – a rare spectacle as binary solar systems rarely contain (exoplanets). Nora Eisner, a scientist involved in the research, expressed her excitement about the finding. “It’s quite thrilling that we have managed to discover this planet. There are several aspects that make this planet a unique discovery. The planet is located in the habitable zone of a very bright star. Additionally, the planet’s orbit is exceptionally notable.” The planet takes a total of 272 days to complete a full orbit around its sun. Including the new planet, there are only five planets outside our solar system with an orbit longer than 100 days. One of these planets, named BEBOP-1c, was discovered in 2023.
The Newly Discovered Planet: TOI 4633 c
The new delight goes by the official name TOI 4633 c. Although compared to Tatooine, the planet’s surface is more similar to Neptune’s. This resemblance did not discourage scientists from dubbing the planet an informal name after a character from the Harry Potter series – Percival. Percival orbits the ‘main star’ of the solar system, aptly named TOI 4633 A. There’s speculation of an unconfirmed second planet orbiting around this ‘main star’. Surrounding the entire system is the second star, TOI 4633 B. This research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The Crucial Role of Citizen Scientists
This new binary solar system was unveiled with the help of citizen scientists participating in NASA’s Planet Hunters TESS program. TESS, short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, played an instrumental role in the discovery. The satellite collects vast amounts of data, including photographs, which are made available online for volunteers to review and analyze. These volunteers are invaluable as, according to Eisner, the human brain has peculiar capabilities to identify patterns and filter out ‘noise’. “Our algorithms struggled tremendously to identify the two new planets, whereas this was not the case for the citizen scientists,” says Eisner.
A total of 15 different citizen scientists reported a potential planet existing near TOI 4633 A to NASA. Upon these reports, Eisner’s team conducted further research on the star leading to the planet’s discovery. Initially, scientists believed the solar system consisted of only one star. However, after further analysis of archive data, they concluded it was indeed a binary solar system.
The Significance of the Research and Future Prospects
The research results are significant as binary solar systems infrequently host planets, challenging our understanding of binary solar systems with exoplanets. Eisner adds, “Finding planets in systems with multiple suns is enormously crucial. They can help us understand how significantly different planets can originate from the same materials.” The scientists hope to gain more insights into the unique star system in the future. They plan to determine whether Percival has a moon. “If this planet had a moon, it would probably have a solid surface. This would be an amazing place to look for the presence of water,” concludes Eisner.
A Possibly Multi-Planet Binary System
Apart from the moon, researchers are eager to discover if Percival stands alone. During the research to confirm the planet’s existence, they found indications suggesting the binary system might house another planet. The potentiality of a binary system with multiple planets, which as far as we know are much rarer, would elevate this discovery’s significance. However, observations to confirm the second planet’s existence will have to wait. Researchers need to wait approximately 30 years before follow-up studies can be conducted. Currently, the binary stars are too close to each other, making it impossible to determine the solar system’s exact layout.
