Astrophysicist suggests planetary misalignment due to multiple star impact
Thursday, November 15, 2012 - 06:30
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org)—Astrophysicist Konstantin Batygin has published a paper in the journal Nature arguing that the reason some planets lie in a tilt off the equatorial plane of their sun is because of the prior existence of another star that impacted their orbit. He suggests that systems that once hosted more than one star, but now do not, could also explain the existence of "Hot Jupiters" that have an orbit opposite of their host star.