More than 5000 extrasolar planets have been confirmed in over 3000 planetary systems. Astronomers have been given a detailed sample of the types of planets that exist in our Universe, ranging from gas giants several times the size of Jupiter to smaller, rocky bodies. The majority of these have been discovered using indirect methods, such as theTransit Photometry and theDoppler Spectroscopy, while the rest have been detected using other methods.
An international team of scientists used the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array network to find a Jupiter-like planet in a system about 20 light-years away. Using a method known as Astrometry, the team was able to detect this planet by its wobble. This method allowed the team to create the first 3-dimensional architecture of a system and a planet that are both in the same star system.
Dr. Ramirez is a researcher with the Institute of Astronomy at the UNAM. They were joined by colleagues from the UNAM and researchers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The paper that describes their research was published in The Astronomical Journal.
Two red dwarf stars are in the system that is being studied. The larger of the two is about half the size of the Sun. The two planets are separated by a distance between Neptune and the Sun and have an orbital period of 229 years. The 3D mapping they did couldn't be done with other methods.
Being able to understand systems like this one will help us understand planet formation as a whole. Red dwarfs are the most common type of stars in the Universe, accounting for 75% of stars in the Milky Way. The stars can remain in their main sequence stage for up to ten trillion years and are notable for supporting smaller rocky planets.
The data obtained between 2006 and 2011 and new data obtained in 2020 were combined with observations made of the system between 1941 and 2017. Over time, the stars' positions were measured using the VLBA's ten telescopes. They analyzed the data to reveal the stars' motions through space. Astrometry is the measurement of the position and motion of stars.
The existence of the planet around the star was revealed by their detailed assessment of the star's motion. The team calculated that the planet is roughly twice the mass of Jupiter. They found that its parent star is slightly less distant from the Sun than Venus is, and that it has an orbital period of nearly 300 days.
The planet moves around the main star in a different direction than the secondary star. This is the first time that such a structure has been seen in a planet that was formed in the same disk.
The planned Next Generation Very Large array will benefit from the use of the Astrometric technique. The network will consist of 243 18-meter dishes spread over a distance of 8,860 km and 19 6-meter dishes at the center of the telescope. Astronomers will be able to detect smaller rocky planets that are more similar to Earth. The co-author of the book is a UNAM employee.
“Additional detailed studies of this and similar systems can help us gain important insights into how planets are formed in binary systems. There are alternate theories for the formation mechanism, and more data can possibly indicate which is most likely. In particular, current models indicate that such a large planet is very unlikely as a companion to such a small star, so maybe those models need to be adjusted.”
There is further reading on the NRAO.
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