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News From the Field

Flipping Hot Jupiters


May 11, 2011

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In the last few years, astronomers have observed that with some extrasolar planets--planets that orbit stars other than the sun--the star is spinning one way and the planet, a "hot Jupiter," is orbiting the star in the opposite direction. A Northwestern University research team is the first to model how these huge planets got so close to their stars--thanks to gravitational perturbations by a much more distant planet--and how the planets' orbits can flip in the process.Full Story

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Northwestern University

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