NASA Spacecraft Discovers Planet Orbiting 2 Suns, Just Like Star Wars

CBS ^ | September 15, 2011 6:24 PM | Matt Bigler

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

>Ames Research Center, Circumbinary Planet, Matt Bigler, Mountain View, NASA, NASA Ames, Star Wars, Tatooine, Two Suns

MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Kepler spacecraft has found a planet that orbits two stars just as Luke Skywalker’s home world does in the Star Wars movies, NASA announced Thursday.

An orange sun and a red sun that actually orbit each other define daytime on Kepler 16b, the 21st planet outside our own solar system discovered by  planet hunter.

KCBS’ Matt Bigler Reports:

NASA Discovery Sure To Excite Star Wars Fans

The resemblance between the newest exo-planet and the fantasy world Tatooine envisioned by George Lucas ends on the horizon, said scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

Kepler 16b is a cold, gaseous planet similar to Saturn.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach and KevinDavis.

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[Immerito]

Aha! So maybe Star Wars *did* occur in a galaxy far, far away.

;-)

[SoldierDad]

The one on the right is more attractive, though!

[MCCC]

Yes the one on the right was made up for one episode. The one on the left actually walks among people like that!!!!! LOL

[RckyRaCoCo]

Josey Wales: “Yeah, well, I always heard there were three kinds of suns ....., sunshine, sunflowers, and sons-of-b.....”