Science & Tech · Space · 5 hrs ago
Astronomers say a neighbouring planet hid TOI-2535 b from view
Astronomers say TOI-2535 b has stopped appearing in front of its star in observations this year.
The planet is about 1,000 light-years away and is a gas giant known as a hot Jupiter.
It circles its star every 8.25 days, and NASA’s TESS telescope first detected it in 2019.
Over seven years, its passages shifted by as much as six hours and grew shorter and fainter before vanishing from view.
Researchers think an unseen neighbouring planet is tilting its orbit, making the planet’s path no longer line up with our view of its star.
This is the most extreme example the researchers have seen of planets affecting each other’s orbits, and the same kind of orbital misalignment helps explain why eclipses on Earth are not monthly.
TOI-2535 b is expected to become visible again in 30 to 50 years, while the unseen planet could be spotted sooner.
Astronomers say a neighbouring planet tilted TOI-2535 b’s orbit until the planet stopped passing in front of its star as seen from Earth.
The planet is a hot Jupiter that orbits its star every 8.25 days.
Astronomers tracked it for years after TESS found it in 2019, observing transits that shifted in timing and became shorter and shallower.
The researchers say the planet’s orbit is wobbling because of gravitational interactions with an unseen neighbour.
They expect TOI-2535 b to become visible again in 30 to 50 years.
- Who
- UCLA-led astronomers studied TOI-2535 b and its unseen neighbouring planet.
- What
- TOI-2535 b stopped transiting its star as viewed from Earth. Researchers say the neighbour’s gravity tilted its orbit.
- When
- The transits stopped earlier in 2026, according to the article.
- Where
- About 1,000 light-years away, in the TOI-2535 system.
- Why
- Researchers say gravitational interactions with a neighbouring planet caused TOI-2535 b’s orbit to tilt out of alignment with our view.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
NASA’s TESS found TOI-2535 b.
Astronomers tracked the planet’s transits, which shifted in timing and became shorter and shallower.
TOI-2535 b’s transits stopped.
Researchers expect the planet to become visible again.
- Planet
- TOI-2535 b
- Type
- Hot Jupiter
- Orbital period
- 8.25 days
- Distance
- About 1,000 light-years
- Discovery
- Found by TESS in 2019
- Expected return to view
- In 30 to 50 years
3 sources
What people are saying
We think of the universe as resembling clockwork, where everything is regular, but that’s not true. If there are multiple planets in a system, they can affect each other’s orbits. We know of a few systems that are like this,
This is the most extreme example we’ve seen because the two planets are interacting so strongly. The planet’s orbit is tilting so quickly that its transit disappeared while we were watching.