Planets are at the mercy of their stars . Their birth and evolution are shape by the amount of light they pick up , how close they have formed to the wizard , and many other factors . Their death is also tied to how the star change . For case , a star becoming a blood-red titan will suddenly become much larger and steep any planets that orb too close .
But a rum satellite look to have avoided this fate and astronomers are very curious about it . As reported inThe Astrophysical Journal , researcher used the data from NASA ’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite ( TESS ) to study the pulsation of two red gargantuan stars , HD 212771 and HD 203949 . Both of them boniface planets and by using the stars ' pulsations , a technique known as asteroseismology , the team was able to watch their place such as their passel , age , and size .
" TESS observance are exact enough to allow measuring the blue-blooded pulsations at the surface of star . These two reasonably develop star also host planets , providing the nonsuch testbed for studies of the development of erratic system , " lead author Tiago Campante , from the Portuguese Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences ( IA ) , say in astatement .
Based on observations , HD 203949 should have devoured its satellite . While now it is a cool reddened giant ( in terms of temperature rather than flair ) , it is expected to have expanded beyond the current orbit of the planet . So how did the planet avoid engulfment ?
The squad ran numerical simulations of what the system might have looked like in the past and found a straightforward solution to why the satellite was n’t destroyed . It merely did n’t sphere that near to the star when it lucubrate . The researchers conceive that a tidal interaction with the evolved star tardily forced the planet to migrate inwards and finally settle in its current orbit .
" This study is a perfect demonstration of how astral and exoplanetary astrophysics are linked together , ” added carbon monoxide gas - author Vardan Adibekyan , also at the IA and the University of Porto . “ Stellar analysis seems to hint that the star is too evolved to still host a planet at such a ' light ' orbital distance , while from the exoplanet psychoanalysis we know that the planet is there ! "
Asteroseismology has importantly improved our understanding of the internal working of stars over the last decade . TESS and forthcoming observatories such as theEuropean Space Agency ’s PLATOwill proceed this authoritative work .
