Oct 24, 2025 06:22 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1103259
INTRO: An international team of researchers has just revealed the existence of three Earth-sized planets in the binary stellar system TOI-2267 located about 190 light-years away. This discovery, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, is remarkable as it sheds new light on the formation and stability of planets in double-star environments, which have long been considered hostile to the development of complex planetary systems.
"Our analysis shows a unique planetary arrangement: two planets are transiting one star, and the third is transiting its companion star," says Sebastián Zúñiga-Fernández, researcher and member of the ExoTIC group at the University of Liège (ULiège) and first author of the study. "This makes TOI-2267 the first binary system known to host transiting planets around both of its stars."
An unusual double-star system. TOI-2267 is a compact binary: two stars orbit each other in a tight configuration, creating a gravitationally unstable environment for planet formation. Yet, researchers have identified three Earth-sized planets in short orbits, a surprising result that challenges several classical models of planetary formation.
“Our discovery breaks several records, as it is the most compact and coldest pair of stars with planets known, and it is also the first in which planets have been recorded transiting around both components,” explains Francisco J. Pozuelos, a former member of the ExoTIC group, currently researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), and co-leader of the study... (MORE - details, no ads)
https://youtu.be/kFTnyBj9yJI
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kFTnyBj9yJI
INTRO: An international team of researchers has just revealed the existence of three Earth-sized planets in the binary stellar system TOI-2267 located about 190 light-years away. This discovery, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, is remarkable as it sheds new light on the formation and stability of planets in double-star environments, which have long been considered hostile to the development of complex planetary systems.
"Our analysis shows a unique planetary arrangement: two planets are transiting one star, and the third is transiting its companion star," says Sebastián Zúñiga-Fernández, researcher and member of the ExoTIC group at the University of Liège (ULiège) and first author of the study. "This makes TOI-2267 the first binary system known to host transiting planets around both of its stars."
An unusual double-star system. TOI-2267 is a compact binary: two stars orbit each other in a tight configuration, creating a gravitationally unstable environment for planet formation. Yet, researchers have identified three Earth-sized planets in short orbits, a surprising result that challenges several classical models of planetary formation.
“Our discovery breaks several records, as it is the most compact and coldest pair of stars with planets known, and it is also the first in which planets have been recorded transiting around both components,” explains Francisco J. Pozuelos, a former member of the ExoTIC group, currently researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), and co-leader of the study... (MORE - details, no ads)
https://youtu.be/kFTnyBj9yJI