All articles tagged with #orbital tilt
A new study led by Yale University reveals that tilted orbits, a phenomenon observed in our solar system, are not unique and can also be found in distant exoplanets. The research suggests that even "pristine" star systems can have planets with tilted orbits, with some slanting as much as 20 degrees from the horizontal. This finding may provide insights into how solar systems form and why planets in our own neighborhood have a tilt.
A new study led by Yale astronomers suggests that even in "pristine" solar systems, planets can exhibit a tilt in their orbits. Previous assumptions were that tilted orbits were the result of cosmic disturbances, but this study indicates that it may be a common occurrence. The researchers found that even in undisturbed solar systems, planets can have an orbital tilt of up to 20 degrees. This discovery provides valuable insights into early solar system development and suggests that Earth's slightly slanted orbit is not unusual. The study also contributes to understanding "hot" Jupiter solar systems and their extremely tilted orbits.
The planetary orbits in most planetary systems are aligned with the star's rotational plane, but a recent study shows that WASP-131b, a hot gas planet, has a highly tilted orbit of about 160 degrees from the rotational plane of its star. The mechanism behind the odd orbit is unclear, but it may be due to the Kozai effect or a magnetic interaction between the planet and the protoplanetary disk early in its formation period. About a quarter of hot gas exoplanets have significantly tilted orbits.