Geneva university challenges 'hot Jupiter' planetary theories

Research by astronomers, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), challenges current theories about the formation of planetary systems that feature a so-called hot Jupiter planet. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox A hot Jupiter is a planet with a mass similar to the Jupiter of our solar system but orbiting very close to its star, which raises its temperature to extremely high levels. The Geneva scientists' work, which began in 2006, started with observations of the planet designated as WASP-132b, which is so close to its sun that it takes only seven days and three hours to make one revolution around it. By way of comparison, our Jupiter takes almost 12 years. The hot Jovian planets have so far only been observed isolated around their star, with no other planets in their vicinity. This observation seemed very solid as there is a theory that explains it. When, during the process of planetary system formation, giant planets migrate toward their star, those in ...