{"id":26020,"date":"2023-07-19T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=26020"},"modified":"2023-07-17T13:00:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T17:00:28","slug":"eso-two-exoplanets-may-share-same-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=26020","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Two exoplanets may share same orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A new report from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/news\/eso2311\/?lang\">European Southern Observatory (ESO)<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/news\/eso2311\/?lang\"><strong>Does this exoplanet have a sibling sharing the same orbit?<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26021\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26021\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/images\/eso2311a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"26021\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?attachment_id=26021\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/eso2311a1-e1689612879200.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"691,504\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;ALMA (ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO) \/Balsalobre&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, shows the young planetary system PDS 70, located nearly 400 light-years away from Earth. The system features a star at its centre, around which the planet PDS 70 b (highlighted with a solid yellow circle) is orbiting. On the same orbit as PDS 70b, indicated by a solid yellow ellipse, astronomers have detected a cloud of debris (circled by a yellow dotted line) that could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. The ring-like structure that dominates the image is a circumstellar disc of material, out of which planets are forming. There is in fact another planet in this system: PDS 70c, seen at 3 o\\u2019clock right next to the inner rim of the disc.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1689775200&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;A planet and its Trojan orbiting a star in the PDS 70 system (an&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"A planet and its Trojan orbiting a star in the PDS 70 system (an\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, shows the young planetary system PDS 70, located nearly 400 light-years away from Earth. The system features a star at its centre, around which the planet PDS 70 b (highlighted with a solid yellow circle) is orbiting. On the same orbit as PDS 70b, indicated by a solid yellow ellipse, astronomers have detected a cloud of debris (circled by a yellow dotted line) that could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. The ring-like structure that dominates the image is a circumstellar disc of material, out of which planets are forming. There is in fact another planet in this system: PDS 70c, seen at 3 o\u2019clock right next to the inner rim of the disc.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/eso2311a1-e1689612879200.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-26021 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/eso2311a1-e1689612879200-500x365.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/eso2311a1-e1689612879200-500x365.jpg 500w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/eso2311a1-e1689612879200.jpg 691w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, shows the young planetary system PDS 70, located nearly 400 light-years away from Earth. The system features a star at its centre, around which the planet PDS 70 b (highlighted with a solid yellow circle) is orbiting. On the same orbit as PDS 70b, indicated by a solid yellow ellipse, astronomers have detected a cloud of debris (circled by a yellow dotted line) that could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. The ring-like structure that dominates the image is a circumstellar disc of material, out of which planets are forming. There is in fact another planet in this system: PDS 70c, seen at 3 o\u2019clock right next to the inner rim of the disc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Using the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible \u2018sibling\u2019 of a planet orbiting a distant star. The team has detected a cloud of debris that might be sharing this planet\u2019s orbit and which, they believe, could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. If confirmed, this discovery would be the strongest evidence yet that two exoplanets can share one orbit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cTwo decades ago it was predicted in theory that pairs of planets of similar mass may share the same orbit around their star, the so-called Trojan or co-orbital planets. For the first time, we have found evidence in favour of that idea,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>says Olga Balsalobre-Ruza, a student at the Centre for Astrobiology in Madrid, Spain who led the paper published today in <em>Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T7-cp8Om_qU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Trojans, rocky bodies in the same orbit as a planet, are common in our own Solar System <a href=\"#1\">[1]<\/a>, the most famous example being the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter \u2014 more than 12 000 rocky bodies that are in the same orbit around the Sun as the gas giant. Astronomers have predicted that Trojans, in particular Trojan planets, could also exist around a star other than our Sun, but evidence for them is scant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cExotrojans [Trojan planets outside the Solar System] have so far been like unicorns: they are allowed to exist by theory but no one has ever detected them,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>says co-author Jorge Lillo-Box, a senior researcher at the Centre for Astrobiology.<\/p>\n<p>Now, an international team of scientists have used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/teles-instr\/alma\/\">ALMA<\/a>, in which ESO is a partner, to find the strongest observational evidence yet that Trojan planets could exist \u2014 in the PDS 70 system. This young star is known to host two giant, Jupiter-like planets, PDS 70b and PDS 70c. By analysing archival ALMA observations of this system, the team spotted a cloud of debris at the location in PDS 70b\u2019s orbit where Trojans are expected to exist.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0HWvXmfO5PU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Trojans occupy the so-called Lagrangian zones, two extended regions in a planet&#8217;s orbit where the combined gravitational pull of the star and the planet can trap material. Studying these two regions of PDS 70b\u2019s orbit, astronomers detected a faint signal from one of them, indicating that a cloud of debris with a mass up to roughly two times that of our Moon might reside there.<\/p>\n<p>The team believes this cloud of debris could point to an existing Trojan world in this system, or a planet in the process of forming.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cWho could imagine two worlds that share the duration of the year and the habitability conditions? Our work is the first evidence that this kind of world could exist,\u201d<\/em> <em>[&#8230;] \u201cWe can imagine that a planet can share its orbit with thousands of asteroids as in the case of Jupiter, but it is mind blowing to me that planets could share the same orbit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[says Balsalobre-Ruza.]<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cOur research is a first step to look for co-orbital planets very early in their formation,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>says co-author Nuria Hu\u00e9lamo, a senior researcher at the Centre for Astrobiology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>&#8220;It opens up new questions on the formation of Trojans, how they evolve and how frequent they are in different planetary systems,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>adds Itziar De Gregorio-Monsalvo, ESO Head of the Office for Science in Chile, who also contributed to this research.<\/p>\n<p>To fully confirm their detection, the team will need to wait until after 2026, when they will aim to use ALMA to see if both PDS 70b and its sibling cloud of debris move significantly along their orbit together around the star.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cThis would be a breakthrough in the exoplanetary field,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>says Balsalobre-Ruza.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>&#8220;The future of this topic is very exciting and we look forward to the extended ALMA capabilities, planned for 2030, which will dramatically improve the array\u2019s ability to characterise Trojans in many other stars,&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>concludes De Gregorio-Monsalvo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"anchor\" name=\"1\"><\/a>[1] When asteroids in Jupiter\u2019s orbit were first discovered, they were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2021\/how-were-the-trojan-asteroids-discovered-and-named\">named after heroes of the Trojan war<\/a><a class=\"anchor\" name=\"1\"><\/a>, giving rise to the name Trojans to refer to these objects.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>===<\/em><strong><em> Amazon Ad <\/em><\/strong><em>===<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ihq7zn\">Celestron &#8211; NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope &#8211;<br \/>\nCompact and Portable &#8211;<br \/>\nNewtonian Reflector Optical Design &#8211;<br \/>\nSkyAlign Technology &#8211;<br \/>\nComputerized Hand Control &#8211;<br \/>\n130mm Aperture<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=hobbyspace&amp;language=en_US&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B0007UQNNQ&amp;asins=B0007UQNNQ&amp;linkId=075d3255a406b73a3bba790b9e5a30e4&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO): Does this exoplanet have a sibling sharing the same orbit? Using the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible \u2018sibling\u2019 of a planet orbiting a distant star. The team has detected a cloud of debris that might be sharing this planet\u2019s orbit and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=26020\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ESO: Two exoplanets may share same orbit<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,22,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-education","category-exoplanets"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-6LG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24169,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=24169","url_meta":{"origin":26020,"position":0},"title":"ESO: Moon-forming disk observed around exoplanet","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO): Astronomers make first clear detection of a moon-forming disc around an exoplanet Using the Atacama Large Millimetre\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, astronomers have unambiguously detected the presence of a disc around a planet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Astronomy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/eso2111a1-500x206.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16313,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16313","url_meta":{"origin":26020,"position":1},"title":"ESO: VLT captures first confirmed image of a planet forming","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A new report from ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): First Confirmed Image of Newborn Planet Caught with ESO\u2019s VLT Spectrum reveals cloudy atmosphere SPHERE, a planet-hunting instrument on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope, has captured the first confirmed image of a planet caught in the act of forming in the dusty disc surrounding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Astronomy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/eso1821a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24864,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=24864","url_meta":{"origin":26020,"position":2},"title":"ESO: Third planet found at Proxima Centauri, the star nearest our Sun","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO): New planet detected around star closest to the Sun A team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope (ESO\u2019s VLT) in Chile have found evidence of another planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Astronomy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/eso1629f1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/eso1629f1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/eso1629f1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/eso1629f1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12858,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12858","url_meta":{"origin":26020,"position":3},"title":"ESO: Planet observed in triple star system","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A new report from\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): A Surprising Planet with Three Suns A team of astronomers have used the SPHERE instrument on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope to image the first planet ever found in a wide orbit inside a triple-star system. The orbit of such a planet had been expected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Astronomy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"This artist's impression shows a view of the triple star system HD 131399 from close to the giant planet orbiting in the system. The planet is known as HD 131399Ab and appears at the lower-left of the picture. Located about 320 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur), HD 131399Ab is about 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly-imaged planets. 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