Unusual Exoplanet Discoveries: Defying Physics and Witnessing Birth.

The planetary system WASP-131 has a planet, 131b, with an unusual orbit that is tilted about 160 degrees from the rotational plane of the star, meaning that it is in a high, almost polar retrograde orbit. The mechanism behind the odd orbit isn’t clear, but it does follow a pattern seen with many hot gas exoplanets. About a quarter of them have significantly tilted orbits. One possibility is a process known as the Kozai effect, which is more pronounced with smaller planets, and another is a magnetic interaction between the planet and the protoplanetary disk early in its formation.