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Until now, the star system called Kepler-88 is known to orbit two planets, Kepler-88b and Kepler-88c, in close proximity. The newly discovered planet is Kepler-88 d, which orbits its star every four years, its orbit is not circular but elliptical. Its mass is three times the mass of Jupiter.
The planet was discovered by researchers at the University of Hawaii Astronomy Institute (UH IfA) based on data collected over six years by the HIRES spectrometer at the WM Keck Observatory Keck I telescope at the Maunekea volcano, writes the news portal Scientific EurekAlert.org.
The two planets already known as Kepler-88 have strange and surprising dynamics, this is called medium motion resonance. Planet b, smaller than Neptune, orbits the star in 11 days, which is exactly half the Jupiter-sized planet J’s 22-day orbital period.
The clock nature of his trajectory is energy efficient, it works in the same way that a father pushes his son on a swing. Planet b is “pushed” every second orbit around the star by planet c, which is twenty times more massive than it, so its power changes the planet’s orbital time closer to the star.
Astronomers have monitored these changes, called transit time variations, with NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. The instrument detected the exact time that the Kepler-88 b passed between the star and the telescope; this is called transit. Although variations in transit time have already been observed in dozens of planetary systems, the Kepler-88 b has unusually large variations in transit time. A transit can take place up to half a day before or after.
The newly discovered planet added another dimension to the knowledge gathered about the system.
“The planet Kepler-88 d, which has three times the mass of Jupiter, had an even greater influence on the history of the Kepler-88 system than the previous + king + planet c, which has a single mass of Jupiter,” he said. Lauren Weiss, UH IfA researcher in Astronomical. Journal is the lead author of a study of the discovery published in the scientific journal Journal.
It is conceivable that these large planets had an influence similar to that of Jupiter in the formation of the Solar System. These planets may have influenced the formation of rocky planets and directed water-bearing comets toward them. Weiss and colleagues are searching for similar planets in other systems with small planets.
In the Solar System, even the slightest movement of the mighty Jupiter could be felt by all other planets, according to theories. Experts say Jupiter is responsible for the small size of Mars, the existence of the asteroid belt, and the flood of comets that carry water to the young Earth.
(MTI)
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