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Corey S Powell (coreyspowell@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 06-Dec-2023 00:27:49 JST Corey S Powell

The laws of physics can produce beautiful natural harmony. Astronomers just found a remarkable example 100 light years away:
Six planets orbit their star in near-perfect resonance, maintaining a tight rhythm for a billion years.
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cheops/ESA_s_Cheops_helps_unlock_rare_six-planet_system #space #science #astronomy
In conversation about a year ago from mastodon.social permalink
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1. Infographic explaining the HD110067 system. Orbitally resonant systems are extremely important to find because they tell astronomers about the formation and subsequent evolution of the planetary system. Planets around stars tend to form in resonance but can be easily perturbed. For example, a very massive planet, a close encounter with a passing star, or a giant impact event can all disrupt the careful balance. As a result, many of the multi-planet system known to astronomers are not in resonance but look close enough that they could have been resonant once. However, multi-planet systems preserving their resonance are rare.
  https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/524/380/820/186/441/original/24c3d25b1f16d2c6.jpg
2. ESA’s Cheops helps unlock rare six-planet system

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