Northwestern Team Directly Images 6.1-Jupiter-Mass Planet 63 AU From Twin Suns
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 18
Northwestern Team Directly Images 6.1-Jupiter-Mass Planet 63 AU From Twin Suns
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 18
Summary
HD 143811 AB b was confirmed as a directly imaged circumbinary planet about 446 light-years away, orbiting its twin stars at roughly 63 AU—six times closer than any previously directly imaged binary-system planet.
2016 and 2019 Gemini Planet Imager data, later matched with a 2022 Keck/NIRC2 observation, showed the faint object shares the stars’ motion; orbit fitting and spectral analysis identified it as a bound young gas giant.
The planet is estimated at 5.6 to 6.1 Jupiter masses, a little over 1,000 kelvin and about 13 million years old, while the central stars circle each other every 18.6 days and the planet’s orbit lasts about 320.5 years.
That unusually tight placement matters because direct imaging had mostly found circumbinary planets on ultrawide orbits, leaving astronomers unsure whether this world formed in place, migrated inward or was reshaped by early system interactions.
The system now offers a rare three-body laboratory: repeated observations could refine the planet’s orbit and mass and test models of how giant planets can survive around close binary stars.
This planet defies old theories. Are binary suns actually efficient 'planet factories'?
With so many new 'Tatooines' found, is our single-sun Solar System the real cosmic oddball?
A student found this planet in old data. What other cosmic secrets are hiding in our archives?
A Real-Life "Tatooine": HD 143811 AB b Redefines Planet Formation Around Binary Stars
Overview
The discovery of HD 143811 AB b in 2022 was a breakthrough in exoplanet science, as it was directly imaged using archival data from the Gemini Planet Imager and later confirmed by the Keck Observatory. This giant planet orbits a pair of tightly bound stars, challenging previous ideas about how planets form in binary systems. Its unique configuration quickly captured scientific attention and redefined expectations for planet formation, positioning HD 143811 AB b as a crucial benchmark for understanding planetary dynamics in complex multi-star environments.