Cheops satellite spots planets that support inside-out model of formation
Scientists using ESA's Cheops satellite have spotted four planets orbiting a small star called LHS 1903, about 116 light-years away.
This new system is making waves because it supports the "inside-out" model of how planets form—basically, that inner planets show up first and use up most of the gas.
Planet e actually formed in a gas-poor zone
The outermost planet, found by Cheops, is a rocky super-Earth that appears to lack a substantial gaseous envelope—something scientists hadn't seen before.
Simulations ruled out other reasons for this, so it looks like planet e actually formed in a gas-poor zone.
As lead researcher Thomas Wilson put it, "It seems that we have found first evidence for a planet which formed in what we call a gas-depleted environment."
Finding clues like this 1 for solving this puzzle
This find helps us piece together how planets are built across the galaxy.
As Cheops scientist Maximilian Gunther said, "Finding clues like this one for solving this puzzle is precisely what Cheops set out to do."
It's another step toward understanding how planets form.