Scientists find 27 new planets that may have two sun

These planets are called ‘circumbinary planets’, which means they move around two stars instead of one. Only about 18 such planets have been confirmed, while more than 6,000 planets have been found around single stars like the Sun.

The newly found planets are between 650 and 18,000 light years from Earth. Scientists say these planets could be similar in size to Neptune or even bigger than Jupiter.

As per reports, the discovery was led by researchers Ben Montet and researcher Margo Thornton. They used a new method called apsidal precession, which studies small changes in the movement of stars that orbit each other. This helps scientists find hidden objects like planets.

Earlier, scientists mostly used the ‘transit method’, where a planet passes in front of a star and blocks some light. But this only works when the position is perfect from Earth, so many planets can be missed reportedly. The team studied 1,590 star systems and found 36 systems where a third object may exist. Out of these, 27 could be planets, but scientists are not fully sure yet. 

As per reports, Australian astrophysicist Sara Webb, who was not part of the study, reportedly said that this method is useful and may help find more planets in the future. She also said that planets with two stars may have very extreme conditions. A planet like Tatooine, with two suns, may actually exist in space. The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the ‘Royal Astronomical Society’.