Research relevant to classifying future observations of planets, including Earth-type planets, which are the focus of future NASA missions such as Kepler and the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), has been published by a team of researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Physics Professor Zdzislaw Musielak, Assistant Professor Manfred Cuntz and graduate student Elizabeth A. Marshall co-authored a paper titled “Stability of Planetary Orbits in Binary Systems,” which appeared in Astronomy and Astrophysics, a journal devoted to astronomical and astrophysical research. Astronomy and Astrophysics has an international readership among astronomers, solar and planetary scientists, physicists and mathematicians.

In this paper, the authors present a detailed investigation of regions of stability and instability of planetary orbits in different binary systems. In accordance to previous research, they distinguished between different cases of planets, where either the planet orbits the center of mass of both stars (P-type orbits) or the planet’s orbit is near one of the stars with the second star considered a perturbing agent (S-type orbits). Based on detailed numerical studies, the authors were able to deduce general criteria to determine a priori the orbital stability of newly observed planets outside the Solar System.

For more information, contact Dr. Zdzislaw Musielak, (817) 272-2513 or Dr. Manfred Cuntz, (817) 272-2467.

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