mercredi 1 mars 2017
That's No Moon, It's a Tatooine-Like Star System That Astronomers Just Discovered
Get your hyperdrive fixed: astronomers recently discovered a star system with rocky asteroid debris, making the possibility of a Tatooine-like planet real. The team of researchers at University College London (UCL) published their findings in Nature Astronomy.
Using the Gemini Observatory South Telescope and the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (real name) in Chile, the team found rocky fragments orbiting two stars (a white and brown dwarf) in a system called SDSS 1557. Located about 1,000 light years away, the rocky fragments point to the possibility of a planet like Tatooine existing. Usually, astronomers have only found "carbon-rich icy material" in two-star systems.
This is the first time a discovery of a rocky planet forming around two stars has been made. Previously, only systems like our own, with one star and "gas giants" like Jupiter, have been found.
"Building rocky planets around two suns is a challenge because the gravity of both stars can push and pull tremendously, preventing bits of rock and dust from sticking together and growing into full-fledged planets," said Dr. Jay Farhi, the lead author on the finding. "With the discovery of asteroid debris in the SDSS 1557 system, we see clear signatures of rocky planet assembly via large asteroids that formed, helping us understand how rocky exoplanets are made in double star systems."
The team isn't done looking at this system, as they will continue to research it to see if the material is actually rock. Don't let us down UCL researchers - you're our only hope to achieving our Star Wars dreams.
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