National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Inclined Orbits Prevail in Exoplanetary Systems

| Science

A research team led by astronomers from the University of Tokyo and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has discovered that inclined orbits may be typical rather than rare for exoplanetary systems -- those outside of our solar system. Their measurements of the angles between the axes of the star's rotation and the planet's orbit of exoplanets HAT-P-11b and XO-4b demonstrate that these exoplanets' orbits are highly tilted.