Discovery of Planet in a Triple-Star System

A group of scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have made an announcement regarding the discovery of a triple-star system, which also includes a planet with a stable orbit. In their publication in The Astronomical Journal, the team explains how they realized that what was previously believed to be a single star was actually a pair of stars orbiting each other, leading to the identification of the triple-star system.

Instances of planets with three stars visible in their sky are uncommon, and this recent finding is only the fourth of its kind. It has generated excitement within the space community due to its proximity, allowing for a more detailed examination compared to previous discoveries. The primary star in this system is also brighter than the other stars that act as suns for their respective planets, facilitating the study of both the star and the planet.

The focus of this study is on KELT-4Ab, a gas giant planet similar in size to Jupiter. It completes its orbit around the star KELT-A, which serves as its sun, in approximately three days. The other two stars, named KELT-B and C, are situated much farther away and orbit each other over a period of around 30 years. It takes the pair approximately four thousand years to complete an orbit around KELT-A. The researchers propose that from the perspective of KELT-4Ab, its sun, KELT-A, would appear roughly forty times larger than our sun does to us due to their close proximity. On the other hand, the two other orbiting stars would appear significantly dimmer due to their considerable distance, shining no brighter than our moon.

The existence of the KELT system has been known to space scientists for several years, but it was previously believed that the binary stars were actually a single star. The researchers involved in this new study were able to determine that they were indeed a binary system with the help of two robotically controlled telescopes located on different continents—one in Arizona and the other in South Africa. Together, these telescopes are referred to as the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT).The name “KELT” was derived from the fact that the triple-star system presents an exceptional chance for researchers to delve into the perplexing phenomenon of gas giants like KELT-4Ab orbiting in such close proximity to their star. According to theoretical assumptions, these planets should be situated farther away, similar to Jupiter. However, the recent discovery proposes a potential connection with the neighboring binary system.

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