Inverted Planetary System Confounds Scientists: Astronomical Discovery Reassesses Formation Theories

Astronomers have revealed an unusual planetary system orbiting a red dwarf star, in a discovery that has intrigued the scientific community due to its arrangement differing from the known pattern in the solar system. This discovery was based on observational data collected by several astronomical observatories, including the European Space Agency's CHEOPS telescope, which is dedicated to studying exoplanets.

Planetary Arrangement Defying Known Rules

The study observed four planets orbiting the discovered star, in an unexpected order compared to the solar system, with the sequence as follows: a rocky planet close to the star, followed by two gas giants, and then another rocky planet at the outskirts of the system.
Lead researcher Thomas Wilson explained that this arrangement makes the system appear as if it is "inverted from the inside out," in a rare phenomenon that contradicts traditional models of planet formation.

New Scientific Explanations for Planet Formation

Scientists usually assume that rocky planets form near stars due to intense radiation, while gas giants form in cooler, more distant areas. However, the presence of a rocky planet at the edges of this system has led researchers to propose new hypotheses regarding the mechanism of planet formation.
The research team suggested that planets may have formed sequentially rather than simultaneously, which could explain the emergence of the outer planet at a stage when the system had exhausted most of the gases needed to form giant planets.

Implications of the Discovery on Understanding the Universe

Scientists noted that this discovery could represent evidence for the possibility of rocky planets forming in gas-poor environments, which may prompt a reevaluation of the established theories regarding the origin of planetary systems.
For her part, researcher Isabel Ripollido emphasized that the increasing diversity of newly discovered planetary systems compels the scientific community to revisit older models, which relied heavily on the characteristics of the solar system alone.

Expansion of Astronomical Discoveries

This discovery comes as part of a series of scientific developments witnessed in recent decades, where thousands of exoplanets have been observed since the 1990s by monitoring slight changes in the brightness of stars as planets transit in front of them, opening broader horizons for understanding the nature of the universe and the evolution of planetary systems.