A newly discovered Tatooine-like planet may orbit two brown dwarfs in a rare configuration, suggesting exotic planetary formations beyond our solar system.
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| A possible exoplanet 120 light years away appears to orbit two brown dwarfs, offering a real-life parallel to Star Wars’ double-sunset world, Tatooine. Image: NASA |
BIRMINGHAM, UK — April 17, 2025:
Astronomers have uncovered compelling evidence of a new exoplanet that may orbit two brown dwarfs—celestial bodies often referred to as “failed stars.” The discovery, published Wednesday in Science Advances, adds to a growing list of unusual planetary systems beyond our solar system and echoes the iconic twin-sunned planet Tatooine from Star Wars.
Located approximately 120 light years from Earth, the potential planet appears to travel an extraordinary path around its binary companions—zipping in an orbit that’s nearly perpendicular to their own. Brown dwarfs, which lack sufficient mass to ignite nuclear fusion like typical stars, are intermediate in size between stars and gas giants.
The twin brown dwarfs at the center of this system were previously known to astronomers, who noted their periodic eclipses as one partially obscures the other from Earth’s perspective. However, a closer examination revealed that the motion of the pair was slightly off—suggesting the gravitational tug of an unseen object, possibly a planet.
So far, the mysterious object has not been directly observed. Instead, its existence is inferred through subtle shifts in the brown dwarfs’ orbits. "I wouldn’t bet my life that the planet exists yet,” said Simon Albrecht, an astrophysicist at Aarhus University uninvolved in the study, urging caution pending further confirmation.
Still, the system has drawn interest due to its unique configuration. “Planets circling twin stars existed in sci-fi for decades before we knew that they could even really exist in reality,” said Thomas Baycroft of the University of Birmingham, the study's lead author. He noted that such discoveries can expand our understanding of planetary formation and diversity across the galaxy.
If confirmed, the planet would join a rare class of exoplanets known to orbit binary stars. Unlike our own solar system's relatively uniform layout, these systems can host planets with wildly tilted orbits—highlighting how alien and complex other worlds can be.
As telescopes and detection methods improve, astronomers hope to directly image this planetary candidate, determine its mass, and map its unusual orbit—potentially revealing a world far stranger than fiction.