International team of astronomers discover planet with three suns
Q. Global team of astronomers have discovered a planet containing not one but 3 suns. What it is called?- Published on 08 Jul 16a. HD 131399Ab
b. HB 131499Bc
c. HD 130399Ab
d. None of the above
ANSWER: HD 131399Ab
International group of researchers have announced the discovery of a strange planet in the faraway solar system containing not one but three suns
- The world is unusual because though binary solar systems are relatively common in the universe, experts indicated systems involving three or more stars are rare
- A planet like this could have constant daylight or enjoy triple sunrises and sunsets every day
- The planet has been named HD 131399Ab and is situated 340 light years from earth in constellation Centaurus
- The cosmic body is believed to be relatively young, close to 16 million years old making it one of the youngest planets discovered outside the solar system to date
- The mass was believed to be 4 times that of gas giant Jupiter, the largest planet in the Milky Way
- The planet orbits the brightest of the three stars on a long and wide path
- The astronomy team spotted the planet through the SPHERE instrument (Spectro-Polarmetric High Contrast Exoplanet Research)on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile
- The instrument senses infrared light, making it capable of detecting heat signatures