Bizarre ‘Backwards’ Planet System Leaves Scientists Scratching Their Heads
By Science Correspondent
Space scientists say they’ve found a bizarre planet system that turns everything we thought we knew upside down.
Experts at the University of Warwick, using the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS telescope, have spotted a distant solar system that doesn’t follow the usual cosmic rulebook.
Normally, in systems like our own, rocky planets sit closest to the star, while giant gas planets form further out. That pattern is seen again and again across the Milky Way.
But not this time.
Looking at a faint red dwarf star called LHS 1903, researchers found four planets. Closest in is a rocky world, followed by two gas giants — so far, so normal. But right at the outer edge sits another rocky planet, where scientists would expect to see gas.
“This strange disorder makes it a unique inside-out system” says first author Dr. Thomas Wilson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, University of Warwick. “Rocky planets don’t usually form far away from their home star, on the outside of the gaseous worlds.”
Traditional theories say rocky planets form near stars because powerful radiation strips away gas, leaving solid cores behind. Gas giants are thought to grow further out in cooler regions where thick atmospheres can build up.
So how did this outer rocky world get there?
Researchers ruled out the idea that the planets swapped places or that a collision stripped the planet of its atmosphere. Instead, they believe the planets may have formed one by one, from the inside out.
Dr. Thomas Wilson explains what this means for the rocky planet: “By the time this final outer planet formed, the system may have already run out of gas, which is considered vital for planet formation. Yet here is a small, rocky world, defying expectations. It seems that we have found first evidence for a planet that formed in a gas-depleted environment.”
The discovery suggests planets might not always form all at once, but instead grow in stages, with each new world using up material as it forms.
Isabel Rebollido, Research Fellow at European Space Agency, points out:
“Historically, our planet formation theories are based on what we see and know about our Solar System. As we are seeing more and more different exoplanet systems, we are starting to revisit these theories.”
And Maximilian Günther, Cheops project scientist at ESA, adds:
“Much about how planets form and evolve is still a mystery. Finding clues like this one for solving this puzzle is precisely what CHEOPS set out to do.”
Scientists say the strange system could be a one-off — or the first sign that planet formation is far more complicated than we ever imagined.
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