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Scientists have a new explanation for the mystery of why some alien planets the size of Jupiter or larger travel in the opposite direction of their parent star's spin.
Of the more than 500 alien planets that have so far been discovered, many have turned out to be oddballs. Scientists have found planets with extremely elongated or highly tilted orbits, or planets that follow paths that swing in very close to their parent stars.
The cream of the weird planet crop are so-called hot Jupiters— large gas giant planets that circle extremely close to their stars — that seem to orbit around their stars in the opposite direction of their parent star's spin. About a quarter of all hot Jupiter planets discovered by astronomers seem to be these strange backward-traveling worlds.
In the new study, scientists found that backward planets can arise when another giant world farther away from the parent star interferes. The gravitational tug from the planetary sibling can perturb the orbit of the first planet to the point that the orbit flips over entirely, resulting in the backward-traveling world, researchers said. [Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]
Of the more than 500 alien planets that have so far been discovered, many have turned out to be oddballs. Scientists have found planets with extremely elongated or highly tilted orbits, or planets that follow paths that swing in very close to their parent stars.
The cream of the weird planet crop are so-called hot Jupiters— large gas giant planets that circle extremely close to their stars — that seem to orbit around their stars in the opposite direction of their parent star's spin. About a quarter of all hot Jupiter planets discovered by astronomers seem to be these strange backward-traveling worlds.
In the new study, scientists found that backward planets can arise when another giant world farther away from the parent star interferes. The gravitational tug from the planetary sibling can perturb the orbit of the first planet to the point that the orbit flips over entirely, resulting in the backward-traveling world, researchers said. [Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]