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Exoplanet GJ 3090 b Orbits Opposite Its Star
Developing
In Short: An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered that the exoplanet GJ 3090 b orbits in the opposite direction of its star, a finding first detected by the TESS space telescope.
Using the NIRPS infrared spectrograph, the team confirmed the planet's highly misaligned orbit.
The cloud of gas and dust that forms a star and its planets typically rotates in the same direction, with the planets orbiting in the same direction as the star.
However, GJ 3090 b's orbit defies this norm, presenting a unique case in exoplanet research.
The team's findings challenge the conventional understanding of planetary formation and orbital dynamics.
For the solar system, the eight planets orbit in the same direction as the Sun, with only slight deviations in their orbital planes.
This discovery adds to the growing body of evidence that planetary systems can exhibit a wide range of orbital configurations.
The research highlights the complexity and diversity of planetary systems beyond our own.
What's still developing
- The planet GJ 3090 b, which orbits it, was first detected by the TESS space telescope, which scans the sky for transits (small, periodic variations in a star's brightness caused by a planet passing in front of it).
- An international team led by the Department of Astronomy at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has determined the orbital configuration of the exoplanet GJ 3090 b using the NIRPS spectrograph, partly built in Geneva.
- A star and its planets form when a cloud of gas and dust collapses in on itself somewhere in space.
- The cloud then forms a disc around the nascent star, within which the planets will form.
- This protostar and its disc then rotate in the same direction.