An international team of scientists has discovered an unusual Neptune-sized exoplanet that orbits its star in the opposite direction, infohub.kz reports.
Using a high-precision spectrograph, astronomers detected the exoplanet GJ 3090 b with a retrograde orbit. Its orbital axis is tilted at approximately 136 degrees, confirming that the body moves against the rotation of its host star. This is the first such case observed around such small and cool stars, which make up the majority in our galaxy.
Typically, planets form from the same gas and dust disk as their star and move in the same direction. To explain the anomaly, researchers tried to find another massive body nearby that could have knocked the exoplanet off course with its gravity, but found nothing. Experts now suggest that in the early stages, the system may have captured a second disk from outer space, which set the planet on its new path.
The discovery challenges traditional ideas about the formation of planetary systems in the universe. Scientists plan to continue observing the object to determine how often such anomalies occur around red dwarfs and how the external environment influences the development of young star systems.