Why Are Tatooine Planets Rare? General Relativity Explains Why Binary Star Systems Rarely Host Planets

Why are Tatooine planets rare? General relativity explains why binary star systems rarely host planets

Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around single stars, but few around binary stars—even though both types of stars are equally common. Physicists can now explain the dearth.

Why Are Tatooine Planets Rare? Blame General Relativity - Astrobiology

Of the more than 4,500 stars known to have planets, one puzzling statistic stands out. Even though nearly all stars are expected to have planets and most stars form in pairs, planets that orbit both stars in a pair are rare. Of the more than 6,000 extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, confirmed to date — most […] The post Why Are Tatooine Planets Rare? Blame General Relativity appeared first on Astrobiology.