Space oddity: Giant planet dancing with three stars discovered
An artist's impression of the triple star system HD 131399 from close to the giant planet orbiting in the system. Courtesy of ESO/L. Calçada/Handout Astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other ever found, one that loops widely around one star that is locked in a gravitational embrace with two others in a triple-star system, creating a curious celestial ballet.The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Science, challenge current notions about what makes a planetary system viable.With three stars in the system, the massive planet would experience triple sunrises and triple sunsets during one season and all daylight in another. Since the planet's orbit is very long, each season lasts for hundreds of years."Depending on which season you were born in, you may never know what nighttime is like," lead researcher Kevin Wagner of the University of Arizona said.The planet, called HD 131399Ab, is about four times bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, an...
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