HKU ASTROPHYSICISTS LEAD RESEARCH TEAM TO UNCOVER THE ROLE OF BINARY STAR EVOLUTION IN THE ORIGIN OF A RETROGRADE PLANET
2025.05.26
Most stars in the Universe exist in binary or multiple star systems, where the presence of close-in companion stars in such systems can adversely influence the formation and orbital stability of planets around one of the stars. An international team of astrophysicists led by Professor Man Hoi LEE from the Department of Earth Sciences and the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Mr Ho Wan CHENG, an MPhil student in his team, has confirmed the existence of a planet in an unprecedented retrograde orbit (moving in the opposite direction to the binary’s orbit) in the nu Octantis (nu Octantis) binary star system and revealed the role of binary star evolution in the origin of this planet. The findings have been published in the journal Nature.
