一项基于NASA凌日系外行星巡天卫星(TESS, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)对发生相互掩食的双星系统观测数据的研究,发现了二十多颗候选系外行星,即太阳系以外的行星世界。该方法使TESS任务得以探测到原本无法识别的行星。截至目前,TESS已确认885颗系外行星,并甄别出逾7900颗[…]。
A study of NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) data on stellar pairs undergoing mutual eclipses has uncovered more than two dozen candidate exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system. This method allows the mission to locate planets it couldn’t otherwise detect. To date, TESS has discovered 885 confirmed exoplanets and identified more than 7,900 […]
一项针对美国国家航空航天局(NASA)TESS(凌日系外行星巡天卫星)数据的研究,聚焦于发生相互掩食的双星系统,已发现二十多颗候选系外行星——即太阳系以外的行星世界。该方法使任务得以探测到原本无法识别的行星。相关研究成果于5月4日发表在《皇家天文学会月刊》(Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)上。 对于位于双星系统中的行星而言,其轨道朝向可为我们揭示该系统的形成机制。部分关于双星系统内行星形成的模型认为,行星主要在两颗相互绕行恒星所构成的轨道平面附近形成,从而提高了双星系统拥有凌日行星的可能性;而另一些模型则指出,其形成过程要混乱得多:双星会扰动其周围的年轻行星,使其进入更宽、倾角更大的轨道,因而凌日概率显著降低。 你也有机会发现下一颗系外行星!加入“行星猎人TESS”(Planet Hunters TESS)公民科学项目,你将学习如何解读光变曲线——即来自遥远恒星的光度数据图——从中识别出环绕恒星运行的系外行星所留下的典型信号。
A study of NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) data on stellar pairs undergoing mutual eclipses has uncovered more than two dozen candidate exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system. This method allows the mission to locate planets it couldn’t otherwise detect. A paper describing the findings published May 4 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. For planets located in binary systems, the orientation of the planet’s orbit can tell us about how that system formed. Some models of planet formation in binary systems suggest planets mainly form near the plane formed by the two orbiting stars, increasing the likelihood of binaries hosting transiting worlds. But other models indicate a much more disorderly formation process, with the stellar pair stirring its young planets into wider and more tilted paths much less likely to undergo transits. You could discover the next exoplanet! Join the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project, and you’ll learn how to read light curves — plots of light data from distant stars — to find telltale signals from orbiting exoplanets.