Astronomers have discovered an unusual solar system. It’s near Earth. It’s made up of six planets orbiting a star. The planets’ orbits appear to be coordinated. Scientists say their movement is like a perfectly timed symphony.
It’s “precise, very orderly,” says Enric Pallé. He’s an astronomer at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
The discovery was announced on November 29. It’s based on data from two orbiting satellites. They are NASA’s TESS and the European Space Agency’s Cheops.
The system is about 600 trillion miles away. That’s close, in space terms. It could offer an example of how solar systems like ours formed. All solar systems are thought to have started out like this one. But they rarely keep their perfect timing. Giant planets can throw off the orbits of other planets. So can meteor impact.
Hugh Osborn is an astronomer in Switzerland. He says his team was “shocked and delighted” by the discovery. “My jaw was on the floor,” he says. “That was a really nice moment.”
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