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ThisisScientificAmerican's 60-secondScience, I'mChristopherIntagliata.
Oursolarsystemisfarfromtheonlywaytoputtogetherstarsandtheirplanets.
"Ifyoulookatallthestars, youknow, inourgalaxy, intheMilkyWay, right? Morethanhalfofthestarsareformedinmultiples—meaningthere'smorethanonestarinthesystem."
AstrophysicistJaehanBaeoftheCarnegieInstitutionforScience. Hehasstudiedoneofthosesystems—withthreestars. It'scalledGWOrionis. Andit'sfreshlyformed—onlyamillionyearsold.
"Yeah, it'sreally, reallyyoung. Yeah, it'sababy."
Baesaysifyoutranslatethatmillion-yearlifespantothatofahuman, it'stheequivalentofaweek-oldbaby. Andhowmanyweek-oldbabiesdoyoubumpinto?
"Soifyoujustwalkaroundyourneighborhood, there'slittlechanceyoumeetababywho'soneweekold, right? So, firstofall, it'shardtofindthesesystems—they'reprettyrare."
Baeandhiscolleaguesgotluckyspottingthisone. Usingradiotelescopes, theywereabletoimagethestarsystem. Andtheysayitdiffersfromourownsolarsysteminmorethanjuststarcount.
Inoursolarsystem, forexample, alleightplanetsorbitthesunmoreorlessinasingleplane. Thinkofthesunasthecenterofavinylrecord—withtheplanetsstrungoutalongthegrooves.
Incontrast, Bae'steamdiscoveredthatthestarsinthistriple-starsystemareringedbycloudsofdustinmultiplewarpedandmisalignedplanes—pictureathree-dimensionalgyroscoperatherthanatwo-dimensionalvinylrecord. TheobservationsareinthejournalScience.
Thoseringsofdustwillpresumablygoontoformplanetsasthestarsystemmatures. AndBaesaysastronomershaveindeedobservedother, morematurestarsystems—withplanetsorbitinginthesemisalignedplanes.
"Andwewantedtounderstandifthathappenswhentheplanetsarebornorwhetherit'ssomeevolutionarythingthathappensover, youknow, abillionyears."
Thefindingsuggeststhatweirdlyalignedplanetarysystemsarebornthatway—andthatstarsandtheirembryonicplanetscanbealltopsy-turvy—evenintheirinfancy.
ThanksforlisteningforScientificAmerican's 60-secondScience. I'mChristopherIntagliata.