The discovery of new exoplanets can help scientists understand how planets form and evolve.
Scientists from 新澳彩官网 Sydney have located a potential new exoplanet 鈥 a planet that orbits a star outside of our solar system 鈥 using a technique known as 鈥榯ransit timing variation鈥.聽
In research highlighted in a new paper, published today in , Scientia Senior Lecturer Ben Montet and PhD candidate Brendan McKee analysed changes in the timing of a known planet鈥檚 transit across its star, to infer the presence of a second exoplanet. 聽
After identifying an unusual trend in the movement of the hot Jupiter planet TOI-2818b, the team, from the 新澳彩官网 School of Physics, ran a series of model simulations that pointed to the presence of a small planetary companion to the known hot Jupiter.
The new exoplanet is estimated to be 10-16 times the size of Earth, with a predicted orbital period less than 16 days. 聽
"It鈥檚 rare for hot Jupiters to have other planets near them,鈥 says Dr Montet. 鈥淪o this new planet could have implications about how hot Jupiters form and in turn, help us to understand other solar systems.鈥 聽