5 planets packed into tiniest alien solar system ever found The most crowded alien planetary system found yet possesses five worlds all orbiting a star at least 12 times closer than Earth does the sun, researchers say. Read more
The most crowded alien planetary system found yet possesses five worlds all orbiting a star at least 12 times closer than Earth does the sun, researchers say.
KOI 500, is one of the most interesting because the planets so closely orbit the parent star. There are five of them, with periods that range from just under a single day to 9.5 days. It resembles Jupiter's system of moons in that regard. Jupiter's three largest inner moons orbit the planet orbit in 1:2:4 resonance, with periods of 1.77, 3.55 and 7.16 days, respectively. KOI 500's planets may have similar characteristics.If confirmed, the planets around KOI 500 will be some of the smallest orbits around their star yet found, and the innermost would be bathed in heat from even a relatively cool star. A planet in our own system that orbited the Sun so fast would be only 2 million kilometres from its centre -- only a few solar radii from the surface -- and the temperature would be measured in the thousands of degrees Celsius. Standing on the night side of the planet would offer a spectacular view of the other three worlds in the system, as they would all be close enough to show small discs even if they were only the size of Earth.