Scientists discover LHS 1903 planetary system that shouldn't exist

Recently, scientists have discovered a special planetary system that subverts existing planet formation theories. This system orbits the red dwarf star LHS 1903 in the thick disk of the Milky Way. Its planetary arrangement is considered by the academic community to be "should not exist." The relevant research conclusions were published in the journal Science.

Artist's impression of the planetary system surrounding the star LHS 1903

For a long time, scientists have used the solar system as a model to construct a theory of planet formation. The core conclusion is that rocky planets are born in areas close to stars, while gaseous planets are formed in farther orbits. The reason is that the strong radiation of stars will blow the gas around the rocky cores of orbiting planets, while the radiation in far-orbiting areas is weaker, which is more conducive to the formation of gaseous planets.

But the LHS 1903 system doesn’t play by the rules.

Scientists initially observed the presence of three planets in the LHS 1903 system, with the innermost rocky planet and the outer two gaseous planets. This arrangement is fully consistent with existing theories.

But after analyzing observational data from the European Space Agency's Cheops exoplanet characterization satellite,Researchers were shocked to discover a fourth planet - a rocky one in the outermost layer of the system.

This peculiar alternating sequence of "rock-gas-gas-rock" is the first of its kind in an exoplanet system detected by humans.

In order to explain this strange phenomenon, the research team conducted a large number of model tests.Finally, a conjecture was put forward: the four planets in this system were not formed at the same time. When the outermost rocky planet was born, the gas in the system had been exhausted, so it was impossible to gather gas to form a gaseous planet.

The discovery of LHS 1903 also reminds the scientific community that the planetary model of the solar system is not the only guideline for the universe. As observation technology advances, more and more "weird" systems are surfacing.