Star Warsintroduced the idea of a major planet orbiting two stars into the public imagination , but astronomers were n’t too convinced that a rocky planet like Tatooine could live in real life . New observations , however , dispute that melodic theme .
Researchers have discovered that the binary organisation SDSS 1557 about 1,000 light - years aside is border by a dust disc rich in metal and rough asteroids . astronomer surmise thathalfthe planets in the universe are in binary system , but all of those found so far have been gas giants ; this is the firm grounds so far that a rocky globe can constitute around close binary . The discovery is publish inNature Astronomy .
“ build bouldered major planet around two suns is a challenge because the gravity of both lead can advertize and pull tremendously , prevent bits of rock candy and dust from sticking together and growing into full - fledged major planet , ” lead writer Dr Jay Farihi , from the University College London , said in astatement . “ With the breakthrough of asteroid debris in the SDSS 1557 organization , we see decipherable signatures of rocky planet assembly via large asteroid that formed , helping us understand how rough exoplanets are made in dual ace systems . ”
SDSS 1557 contains a white nanus that is 45 percentage the mass of our Sun and a browned midget situate about 490,000 kilometers ( 305,000 international nautical mile ) away . The squad used the Very Large Telescope and the Gemini South Observatory , both in Chile , to bet at the chemic composition of the ashen dwarf . They found that since its uncovering in 2010 , it has been pollute by 100 billion tons ( 110 billion US tons ) of planetary debris , cumulatively about the size of a large asteroid .
“ Any metals we see in the white-hot dwarf will disappear within a few workweek , and sink down into the interior , unless the detritus is continuously flowing onto the principal , " added carbon monoxide - generator Professor Boris Gänsicke from the University of Warwick . " We ’ll be count at SDSS 1557 next with Hubble , to conclusively show the debris is made of careen rather than ice . ”
livid dwarfs are star at the final stage of their life and these disks of debris are suspected of being the clay of modest planet disrupted by gravitational force . A fully fledged rocky planet has yet to be found orbiting a two - star system , but this is a in force indication that we just ask to keep looking .
The SDSS 1557 in an artist stamp . Mark Garlick , UCL , University of Warwick and University of Sheffield .
