Circumbinary planetary systems contain planets that orbit around two stars in the center instead of just one, like in our Solar System.
Circumbinary planets are planets that orbit both stars of a central binary system.
They were once confined to science fiction (Tatooine), but the discovery of Kepler-16b paved the way for the detection of 14 transiting planets in 12 binary systems by NASA’s Kepler/K2 and TESS missions.
“Of the 12 transiting circumbinary planet systems discovered so far, only one hosts multiple circumbinary planets: Kepler-47,” said Ohio State University astronomer David Martin and his colleagues.
“Kepler-47b, d and c have orbital periods of 49.5, 187.4 and 303.2 days respectively, with Kepler-47c’s orbit placing it within the system’s habitable zone.”
“Planet-forming disks around binaries are harsh environments for planet formation to take place in, and circumbinary planet discoveries provide insights into the formation and migration mechanisms at play in these unique environments.”
The newly-discovered planet orbits TOI-1338, a binary system some 1,317 light-years away in the constellation of Pictor.
Also known as TIC 260128333, TYC 8533-950-1 and 2MASS J06083197-5932280, the system consists of two eclipsing stars that orbit each other with a period of 14.6 days.
One star, TOI-1338A, is about 10% more massive than our Sun, while the other, TOI-1338B, is cooler, dimmer and only one-third the Sun’s mass.
In 2020, TOI-1338b, a circumbinary planet 6.9 times the size of Earth and an orbital period of 95 days, was discovered in this system using TESS data.
The new world, TOI-1338c, was discovered in the radial-velocity data obtained by the HARPS and ESPRESSO spectrographs, as part of the Binaries Escorted By Orbiting Planets (BEBOP) project.
Nicknamed BEBOP-1c, the planet has a mass of 65 Earth masses and an orbital period of 215 days.
“With an orbital period around 6.5 times that of the binary, BEBOP-1c is almost as close…
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