A stream of gas falling into a triple-star system in the Orion constellation reveals how planets can end up tilted relative to their stars, according to a new astronomical study.
“If these streamers are common, then we can naturally explain why planets may not necessarily end up in very orderly systems. They can have much more random orientations,” said Jaehan Bae, Ph.D., a professor of astronomy at the University of Florida who helped lead the new study.
At issue is how planetary orbits are aligned with the stars they circle. While our own solar system has all eight planets orbiting the sun’s natural orientation, many other planetary systems in the galaxy have much more tilted angles. That includes GW Orionis, the triple-star system at the heart of this new study.