The planemo twins: Two peculiar planet-like worlds orbiting each other

August 5th, 2006 · No Comments

I once wrote that the universe is stranger than any sci-fi book; well just to prove that a new discovery has been made. Two extra-solar planemos orbiting each other. Finding a planemo is a rare occurrence but finding free floating planets orbiting each other is astounding. It’s a unique find; unique for now. I’m betting this sort of find will happen more often as our technology improves. This and far stranger finds. Earth’s a young planet in a young system, universally speaking. Much older planets and systems than us exist and I promise you we’re not the only intelligent life in the universe.

A pair of strange new worlds that blur the boundaries between planets and stars have been discovered beyond our Solar System. A few dozen such objects have been identified in recent years but this is the first set of “twins”. Dubbed “planemos”, they circle each other rather than orbiting a star. Their existence challenges current theories about the formation of planets and stars, astronomers report in the journal Science. “This is a truly remarkable pair of twins – each having only about 1% the mass of our Sun,” said Ray Jayawardhana of the University of Toronto, co-author of the Science paper. “Its mere existence is a surprise, and its origin and fate a bit of a mystery.” ‘Double planet’ The pair belongs to what some astronomers believe is a new class of planet-like objects floating through space; so-called planetary mass objects, or “planemos”, which are not bound to stars.

BBC Planemo Article

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