New discoveries regarding far-away solar systems could lead to breakthroughs in exoplanetary research. The University of Michigan has been a key player in leading the investigation.
About 16 light-years away from Earth exists a binary star system that leading experts at the University of Michigan believe could hold smaller-sized planets. It’s called 70 Ophiuchi AB, and it’s a stellar system where two stars orbit each other.
Humanity has been studying this system for centuries, and U-M researchers have recently ruled out the existence of Jupiter-sized planets in key inner regions of the system.
The U-M Chair of the Department of Astronomy, Michael Meyer, explains how this discovery opens more doors than it closes.
“If there had been a Jupiter, say, near the habitable zone, that would kind of rule out the probability of an Earth-like planet. Because, if there was a big Jupiter, say, in the orbit of where the Earth is around the sun, if you plop a Jupiter there, then the Earth can’t survive.”
U-M’s research efforts on binary star systems are just beginning, as the university will be involved in multiple pending exoplanetary endeavors.
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