🔭 Discovery of the Tatooine-like System TOI-2267

Astronomers have discovered three Earth-sized planets orbiting a compact binary star system known as TOI-2267, located approximately 190 light-years from Earth. This system is drawing comparisons to the fictional world of Tatooine from Star Wars because its planets could experience double sunsets.  

Unique Planetary Arrangement

The discovery is particularly significant because of the system’s unique configuration, which challenges existing theories of planet formation:  

• Two Suns, Three Planets: The system consists of two stars orbiting closely around each other. All three planets are roughly Earth-sized.  

• Planets Transiting Both Stars: This is the first confirmed binary star system where planets have been observed transiting (passing in front of) both stars.  

• Two of the planets orbit and transit one of the stars.  

• The third planet orbits and transits the companion star.  

 हाँ• Compact and Cold: TOI-2267 is the most compact and coldest pair of stars with planets known to date. The stars orbit each other in close proximity, a condition previously thought to be unfavorable for the formation of stable planetary structures.  

The discovery was initially made using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which looks for the slight dips in starlight caused by a planet passing in front of its star. Follow-up observations from ground-based telescopes helped to confirm the existence and arrangement of the planets. This finding offers a unique opportunity to study how rocky planets form and remain stable in complex, multi-star environments. 

You can learn more about finding planets outside our solar system by checking out this video.

Tatooine-like planet outside solar system

A First-Of-Its-Kind Planetary Configuration

The TOI-2267 system presents a configuration never seen before: two planets transit one star, and a third transits the other. Sebastián Zúñiga-Fernández, first author of the study and researcher at the University of Liège (ULiège), described the setup as a “unique planetary arrangement” that establishes TOI-2267 as “the first binary system known to host transiting planets around both of its stars,” reports Science Daily.

This arrangement is rare not only in its architecture but also in its physical properties. According to Francisco J. Pozuelos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, TOI-2267 now holds multiple records. It is the most compact and coldest known pair of stars to host planets, and the only one with confirmed transits across both stellar components. In systems where stellar companions orbit in such close proximity, gravitational instability was previously expected to prevent planet formation or at least disrupt long-term orbital stability.

A New Lens on Planetary Diversity

The system offers scientists a natural laboratory to test planet formation theories under extreme conditions. “Discovering three Earth-sized planets in such a compact binary system is a unique opportunity,” said Zúñiga-Fernández, noting that it allows researchers to explore how planetary systems can develop and survive despite dynamic instability.

Pozuelos, a co-leader of the study, echoed this sentiment, calling TOI-2267 “a true natural laboratory” that helps illustrate the variety of planetary configurations in our galaxy. With conditions previously believed too disruptive for stable planetary development, the system demonstrates that rocky planets can, in fact, emerge and persist even within gravitationally complex environments.

Please like subscribe comment your precious thoughts on universe discoveries

Full article source google