Circumtriple planet

Schematic diagram showing a proposed geometry of the GW Orionis star system. Scientists have observed abnormalities in the behavior patterns of the three stars and have speculated that an unseen planet may be orbiting all three stars simultaneously.

A circumtriple planet is a celestial mass that is hypothesized to be orbiting not only a single star but three stars at the same time.[1] Scientists observing the star system GW Ori, which is a huge disk of dust and gases about 1,300 light years away from Earth, suspect that there may be a circumtriple planet orbiting the three stars.[2] They observed a gap in the vast dust cloud and they hypothesize that there may be a planet in this gap.[2] The planet itself has not been seen but its influence may explain gravitational oddities within the star system.[3] By using computer modeling, some scientists believe that a Jupiter-sized planet may be able to explain the star system's rings and strange behavior, according to one account.[4] If so, this may be the first known example of a circumtriple planet in the universe.[4]

In 2024, the substellar object CWISE J235827.96–521813.4 was detected to be bound to the Gliese 900 triple star system at a distance of 12000 AU,[5] thus becoming the planet with the longest orbital period.

If a circumtriple planet exists, it will be an extremely rare phenomenon in the universe.[4] It could add to human understanding of how planets form.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference twsES998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference twsNYT776 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference twsSD142 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference twsLS443 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Rothermich, Austin; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Bardalez-Gagliuffi, Daniella; Schneider, Adam C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Meisner, Aaron M.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Kuchner, Marc; Allers, Katelyn; Gagné, Jonathan; Caselden, Dan; Calamari, Emily; Popinchalk, Mark; Suárez, Genaro; Gerasimov, Roman (2024-06-01). "89 New Ultracool Dwarf Comoving Companions Identified with the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project". The Astronomical Journal. 167 (6): 253. arXiv:2403.04592. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad324e. ISSN 0004-6256.