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Astronomers Confirm First Polar-Orbiting Exoplanet Around Binary Brown Dwarfs

The newly discovered 2M1510 (AB) b orbits its two host stars at a 90-degree angle, marking a groundbreaking confirmation of a theoretical planetary configuration.

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Two stars with their orbits depicted in linked rings, with a planet shown orbiting the stars in a perpendicular ring.

Overview

  • The exoplanet 2M1510 (AB) b is the first confirmed planet to orbit two brown dwarfs in a perpendicular, polar trajectory.
  • This discovery was made using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and UVES spectrograph at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
  • The host stars, a rare eclipsing binary of brown dwarfs, represent only the second such system ever documented.
  • The presence of the planet was inferred from gravitational effects on the brown dwarfs, which caused detectable changes in their orbital motion.
  • Published in Science Advances on April 16, 2025, this finding provides the first strong observational evidence of polar circumbinary planets, previously only predicted by theory.