The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has announced an important discovery in the field of astronomy. Thanks to the ALMA telescope (Atacama Large Millimeter/submmillimeter Array, according to the English abbreviation), located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, they found signs two Trojan planets in the same orbit. This is the first time such a formation has been discovered.
“Two decades ago, it was theoretically predicted that pairs of planets of the same mass could move in the same orbit around their star. called Trojan or co-orbital planets. This is the first time we have found evidence in favor of this idea,” commented Olga Balsalobre-Ruza from the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid.
The discovery of possible sister planets focused on PDS 70 system (located about 40 light years from Earth), which contains two giants similar to Jupiter. After examining the observations and comparing them to the ALMA project files, the team found a cloud of debris at the orbital site of one of these planets, PDS 70b. It is assumed that this is where the Trojan planets exist.
Trojan planets: details of the find
The scientists explain that co-orbitals occupy regions where the gravitational pull of a star and planet can hold onto the surrounding material. In that order, they indicated that while studying two regions of PDS 70b’s orbit, they found signs of a possible debris cloud. Its mass is twice the mass of our moon.approximately.
This is the astronomical milestone. A team of astronomers believe that this cloud points to a Trojan planet in this system. As Balsalobre-Ruza noted, this is the first known evidence that this type of world can exist. “We can imagine that a planet can share its orbit with thousands of asteroids, as in the case of Jupiter. But It is amazing that the planets can be in the same orbit.“, said.
For her part, Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, a representative of ESO, noted that the likely discovery of the Trojan planets raises new questions about the formation of celestial bodies that are in the same orbit. In addition, about its evolution and recurrence in different systems.
The aforementioned debris cloud, which could share an orbit with another planet, would be the building blocks for the new planet. It can also be the remains of an already formed one.
It should be noted that Trojans (bodies in the same orbit as the planet) are already known in our solar system.. Asteroids around Jupiter are the most famous case.
Specific, a new discovery opens the possibility of the existence of exotrojans, that is, outside the solar system. According to Jorge Lillo-Box, a researcher at the Spanish Center for Astrobiology, until now they were considered “unicorns”.
Astronomers will have to wait to confirm the discovery
To confirm this discovery, the researchers will have to wait a few years. That’s when ALMA will check to see if PDS 70b and the debris cloud (its potential sister planet) are moving in their orbit. “It would be a breakthrough in the exoplanetary field”pointed out the above-mentioned expert from the Spanish University.
De Gregorio-Monsalvo concluded: “The future is very exciting. We look forward to ALMA improvements planned for 2030. This will greatly improve the array’s ability to characterize Trojans on many other stars.”
The results of this study were published in the journal Astronomy and astrophysics. ALMA is an initiative operating from Chile and partnered with ESO Europe. It is considered the largest astronomical project in the world.
Source: Hiper Textual
