Astronomers discover a rhythmic family of six exoplanets
Astronomers recently discovered a family of six exoplanets orbiting a sun-like star approximately 700 light-years from Earth. All the planets orbit the star at approximately the same distance, so they form a special kind of “resonant chain.” Each planet orbits the star two times for every three orbits of its neighboring world, creating a rhythmic pattern that’s distinct from the chaotic environments of multi-planet systems discovered before. The team also determined that the planets range in size from about twice the size of Earth to four times as large, making it the largest exoplanetary system currently known. This resonant chain of six planets is the first of its kind to be discovered, opening up new possibilities for better understanding how planetary systems form and evolve.