Astronomers identify 27 potential circumbinary planets with new detection method
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 4
Astronomers identify 27 potential circumbinary planets with new detection method
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 4
The UNSW-led study found 36 binary star systems with unexplained wobbles in 1,590 TESS targets, with 27 objects lying 650 to 18,000 light years from Earth.
Researchers used apsidal precession, tracking eclipse-timing shifts between paired stars, to spot likely bodies ranging from Neptune-sized to about 10 times Jupiter's mass.
The candidates would expand a field with only about 18 known circumbinary planets, though follow-up spectral work is still needed to confirm whether the objects are planets, brown dwarfs or stars.
If binary stars are both planet factories and destroyers, what determines the ultimate fate of these 27 new candidate worlds?
If our main planet-finding method is biased, what exotic types of alien worlds are we still completely failing to see?
Can AI confirm thousands of backlogged exoplanets before next-generation telescopes create an even bigger data deluge?
Discovery of 27 Candidate Circumbinary Planets via Apsidal Precession Analysis of TESS and Gaia Data
Overview
In April 2026, researchers discovered 27 candidate circumbinary planets by applying a new detection method based on apsidal precession to data from TESS and Gaia. This method overcomes the limitations of traditional transit searches, which only detect planets orbiting in the same plane as their binary stars, by measuring the gravitational influence of planets on the stars' orbits. However, the signals have a degeneracy that makes it unclear whether the companions are low-mass planets close to the stars or more massive objects farther away. To resolve this, precise radial velocity follow-up with advanced modeling is needed. Future missions like PLATO and the Roman Space Telescope will expand this approach, enabling a more complete census of diverse circumbinary planets across the galaxy.