A World With Three Suns
Jul 16th, 2005 by Moonage
This article was sent to me by Stormwarning. I had read it in Space.com, but had yet to comment on it as I’m not sure that I myself find it particularly all that startling. Scientists have been trying to define a logical pattern for star and planet development, I think the logical patterns are endless. However, what is neat about this particular discovery is up until fairly recently, man was discovering unique stars in the hopes of finding a planet orbiting it. Now, we are looking at unique planets and observing the stars they orbit. This change in philosophy so far is the quantum leap of science into the 21st century.
Surprising discovery:
Discovery of a First: A World With 3 Suns
A planet far away in the galaxy is one of the strangest places ever observed by astronomers.
It orbits a Sun-like star, which also has two other stars in its gravitational embrace. So the planet, its mass slightly greater than Jupiter’s, experiences the unearthly spectacles of multiple sunrises and sunsets. Its main sun, bright yellow, hovers close by. The two others, a larger orange one and a smaller red one, pirouette around each other in an orbit comparable to the distance between Saturn and our Sun…
Newly discovered planet has 3 suns
Scientists puzzled at how such a planet could form
A newly discovered planet has bountiful sunshine, with not one, not two, but three suns glowing in its sky.
It is the first extrasolar planet found in a system with three stars. How a planet was born amidst these competing gravitational forces will be a challenge for planet formation theories.
"The environment in which this planet exists is quite spectacular," said Maciej Konacki from the California Institute of Technology. "With three suns, the sky view must be out of this world — literally and figuratively…"
Pole Discovers First Planet with Three Suns
Top astronomers describe Konacki’s discovery as a "huge surprise" bound to send the entire discipline scrambling for an explanation. Konacki’s unique planet, which is similar to the gaseous Jupiter, lies in a constellation of three stars identified as HD188753, some 149 light years from Earth.
"My discovery could undermine the theory of how planets are formed," Konacki, 32, told Poland’s PAP news agency on Thursday…
I do wonder why you do not find this “startling.”
To me, all of this stuff about space and discovery is part of scientific advancement. Your comment seems to indicate that planets with multiple stars was expected. True?
It was expected by me. I don’t really look at the universe as a science where everything will neatly fall into mathematical calculations. There are millions and millions of stars out there. As scientists are now figuring out, it’s not at all unusual for any star to have planets circling them. Giving that endless array of situations, I expect about anything to be discovered. The evolving theory of solar systems has changed drastically in the 21st century. It is still not uncommon to see scientists trying to speculate that our solar system is unique:
http://moonagewebdream.blogs.com/moonage_spacedream/the_universe/index.html
It is from these people that we get the “surprising discoveries” of planets with three suns. I’m sure scientists with my philosophy are impressed, but not surprised.