A nearby star system with two suns could host an Earth-sized planet capable of supporting life, a new research suggests -- evoking the iconic twin-sunset scenes from Star Wars’ desert planet Tatooine.
The study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, focused on 70 Ophiuchi, a binary star system trillions of miles away but considered relatively close in cosmic terms.
Its two stars are slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun and have been studied for decades, though no planets orbiting either have been confirmed, reports The Independent.
Researchers modelled whether a planet the size of Earth could maintain a stable orbit in the habitable zone of the system’s larger star -- the band around a star where conditions allow liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface.
Their simulations, which tracked gravitational interactions between bodies ranging from stars down to planets, found that stable orbits are indeed possible there.
“An unstable planet’s orbit can become increasingly elongated until eventually the planet is essentially flung away from the system,” The Independent quoted study author Skylar D’Angiolillo of the University of California.
“By repeating the simulation at different locations, we can identify regions where an Earth-sized planet could remain stable.”
Astrophysicist Stephen Kane, another author on the study, said the findings challenge conventional thinking about what a habitable world needs to look like.
“When people think about finding another Earth, they often picture something that looks like our own solar system,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent.
“Having a second sun may sound exotic, but we need to consider worlds that could be habitable without necessarily looking like Earth’s neighbourhood.”
Binary star systems are, in fact, far more common across the universe than single-star systems like our own. Yet of the roughly 6,000 exoplanets confirmed so far, only 14 have been found orbiting binary stars, according to The Independent.
The researchers say their approach could help close that gap and guide future searches for potentially life-bearing worlds around double-star systems.
“There are many other binary systems that could benefit from this type of analysis,” Kane said.
“We also have more work to do on this particular system. There are no confirmed planets there yet, but now we know an Earth-sized planet could potentially maintain a stable orbit in the habitable zone.”