Orientation of far-off multiplanet system has orientation very similar to our own solar system
Thursday, July 26, 2012 - 11:02
in Astronomy & Space
Our solar system exhibits a remarkably orderly configuration: The eight planets orbit the sun much like runners on a track, circling in their respective lanes and always keeping within the same sprawling plane. In contrast, most exoplanets discovered in recent years -- particularly the giants known as "hot Jupiters" -- inhabit far more eccentric orbits. Now researchers have detected the first exoplanetary system, 10,000 light years away, with regularly aligned orbits similar to those in our solar system. At the center of this faraway system is Kepler-30, a star as bright and massive as the sun.