Star Wars: Fiction Meets Fact

The satellite Tatooine successful nan Star Wars saga famously has 2 suns. 

Despite sounding for illustration thing that would only look successful subject fiction, astronomers had antecedently discovered 16 planets successful a two-star strategy conscionable for illustration Tatooine. 

In April 2025, astronomers from nan UK and France presented grounds for nan 17th example. But this 1 has a twist, literally. 

Rather than orbiting nan stars successful nan aforesaid plane, for illustration peas each rolling astir connected a plate, this projected satellite jumps up retired of nan sheet and moves astatine a correct perspective to nan orbit of nan stars. 

Theoretical models propose this was imaginable nether nan correct circumstances, and now it conscionable mightiness beryllium confirmed. 

Image: Artistic practice of nan satellite orbit (orange) tipped sideways to nan orbit of its stars (blue).
Credit: ESO

STAR WARS PREDICTS THE FUTURE

Scientists had previously recovered disks of material successful unusual orbits like this, truthful from a definite constituent of position it was only a matter of clip earlier a satellite successful this inclination was discovered.  

Things do get much different though. The ‘stars’ successful this system, excitingly named 2M1510(AB), are not technically stars successful nan accustomed sense. 

They are brownish dwarfs —objects that are much, overmuch heavier than moreover nan biggest planets, but still not rather large capable to beryllium main series stars. They beryllium successful a unusual no-man’s-sky betwixt nan 2 concepts. 

Image: Artist belief of a brownish dwarf. Not rather a star, not rather a planet.
Credit: NASA 

For a movie made erstwhile we hadn’t recovered immoderate planets astir different stars, we person to springiness a motion to nan amazingly prescient foresight of Star Wars.  

GOOGLE MAPS WON’T HELP HERE

On nan contrary, despite C3P0’s urgent insistence, nan anticipation of successfully navigating an asteroid section is importantly amended than 3720 to 1. 

For nan asteroid loop successful our Solar System – a postulation of millions of rocky objects betwixt Mars and Jupiter – individual asteroids are truthful acold isolated that you whitethorn dice of boredom flying a spaceship done there.

You person to deliberately spell retired of your measurement to get a adjacent look astatine 1 of them, which  is precisely what NASA’s Lucy spacecraft did connected April 21, flying adjacent by nan asteroid named “Donaldjohanson”.  

Image: Asteroid Donaldjohanson up close. At astir 8km long, nan asteroid is larger than nan camera’s section of view.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab 

Lucy is connected a ngo to study 8 different asteroids. While asteroid Donaldjohanson was not a superior subject target for nan mission, this flyby served arsenic an fantabulous trial of nan spacecraft’s capabilities. 

LUCY THE FOSSIL, SPACESHIP AND SONG

The Lucy spacecraft is named aft nan Lucy fossil, a 3.6-million-year-old early humanoid. She was from a family of communal ancestry to modern humans known to locomotion upright connected 2 feet. 

The fossil was discovered successful Ethiopia by palaeontologist Donald Johanson successful 1974 and was itself named for nan opus ‘Lucy successful nan Sky pinch Diamonds’. 

Interestingly, this is nan 2nd asteroid that Lucy has visited, nan first 1 being asteroid Dinkinesh successful 2023. Dinkinesh is nan Ethiopian building for “you are marvellous” and was Johanson’s preferred sanction for nan fossil.  

Image: The Lucy fossil connected display. 
Credit: Public Domain

AMBITION? I DON’T KNOW HER

The Lucy spacecraft is simply a hugely eager mission. 

In nan aforesaid measurement that nan Lucy fossil reveals our past, nan Lucy spacecraft could uncover secrets to nan root of our Solar System, our planet, and us.  

Scientists deliberation that planets successful our Solar System formed by a process called accretion. Basically, from small things large things grow. 

Pieces of particulate instrumentality together to make pebbles, pebbles instrumentality together to make rocks, rocks instrumentality together to make bigger rocks and truthful connected until they are planets.  

The asteroids successful our star strategy are leftover remnants of this process from much than 4.5 cardinal years agone erstwhile nan planets were taking shape. 

But planets and asteroids person changed a batch since they were new.

On Earth we person upwind and earth science that agelong agone buried and blew distant immoderate clues to really our satellite formed. 

Asteroids themselves often collide pinch each other, losing their original information. 

Except for a fewer adjacent Jupiter.  

Image: The Trojan and Greek asteroids (green) adjacent Jupiter are clip capsules to nan history of nan Solar System. 
Credit: Public Domain

SECRET KEEPERS

Jupiter’s tremendous size has allowed it to ‘bully’ nan asteroid belt. Along nan measurement it captured a fewer asteroids – nan Trojans and Greeks, collectively called “the Trojans” – knocking them into a typical orbit called a Lagrange point. 

These asteroids stock Jupiter’s orbit distant from nan main belt.  

Because of nan measurement gravity works, asteroids successful these Lagrange points are stuck location forever. 

They can’t flight aliases interact pinch nan remainder of nan Solar System, and they person been stuck ever since Jupiter first formed much than 4.5 cardinal years ago. 

This intends they are older than Earth. 

They are clip capsules to nan beginnings of our Solar System. They incorporate answers to what nan Solar System looked for illustration erstwhile it was forming, really minerals were distributed, and possibly moreover nan molecules that later formed life connected Earth. 

Visiting them to find retired what they are made of and really they behave will springiness america clues to really life formed connected our satellite and really Earth sewage to beryllium nan measurement that it is today. 

Where nan Lucy fossil lit nan candle connected humankind’s past, nan Lucy spacecraft will do nan aforesaid connected a overmuch grander scale. 

The spacecraft will sojourn six Trojan asteroids complete nan adjacent 8 years. 

Interestingly, asteroid Donaldjohanson is not a Trojan asteroid, but it was adjacent capable to Lucy’s formation way for it to return a look, truthful it did.

Image: Lucy’s formation way will return it to sojourn six Trojan asteroids by 2033. 
Credit: Public Domain

SO FAR APART

Over this twelve-year journey, Lucy will transverse nan main asteroid loop respective times arsenic good arsenic walk done some clusters of Trojan asteroids. 

Yet, it will only get adjacent capable to 8 asteroids to study successful detail. 

Asteroids are really, really acold apart. Rather than needing nan Millenium Falcon to dodge them, you request Lucy to really get adjacent to them. 

Lucy’s adjacent asteroid brushwood – nan first Trojan asteroid it meets – will beryllium asteroid Eurybates connected August 12, 2027.  

Until then, scientists will beryllium keenly studying nan accusation Lucy collected astir Donaldjohanson to corroborate that nan spacecraft is moving properly.  

Does anybody other person Lucy successful nan Sky pinch Diamonds going done their caput correct now?