Different duo - Dwarf star and giant planet - NGTS telescope system makes its first discovery

DLR German Aerospace Center
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Different duo - Dwarf star and giant planet - NGTS telescope system makes its first discovery


In theory, it is impossible. Current theories of planetary emergence dictate that only small, rocky planets – and not a giant planet – can form around a dwarf star. The most recent discovery by the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) system has thrown some doubt on this assumption. NGTS-1b is a planet of a size equivalent to that of Jupiter, orbiting a star that is only half as big as the Sun. It is the first exoplanet discovered using the NGTS array in Chile. The system has been in operation since 2015, and eight of the 12 cameras were financed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). "This initial success with the NGTS is an immense surprise for those that discovered it, and a challenge for theorists," says Heike Rauer, Head of the Extrasolar Planets and Atmospheres Department at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research.



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