University of Warwick astronomers involved in discovery of new planets

Several Warwick University academics were involved in the discovery of two new planets beyond the solar system, as part of a collaboration with the University of Geneva (UNIGE).

The discovery of the two new exo-planets within the WASP-132 system – an inner super-Earth and a distant icy giant planet – has challenged the previous scientific consensus on the complex formation of planetary systems.

It is thought that this scientific revelation will revolutionise the widely accepted theories on how ‘hot Jupiter’ planets form and evolve over time. Hot Jupiters are planets with a similar mass to that of Jupiter, but which orbit nearer to their star than Mercury does around the Sun.

The detection of the inner super-Earth was exciting as it’s particularly rare to find planets interior to hot Jupiters

David Armstrong, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick

David Armstrong, an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick said: “The detection of the inner super-Earth was exciting as it’s particularly rare to find planets interior to hot Jupiters. We carried out an intensive campaign with state-of-the-art instruments to characterise its mass, density and composition, revealing a planet with a density similar to that of the Earth.”

The University press release added: “This planetary discovery adds a layer of complexity to the WASP-132 system as migration of a hot Jupiter planet towards its star through dynamical perturbation would destabilise the orbits of the other two planets. This suggests a more stable ‘cool’ migration path for the hot Jupiter in a proto-planetary disc that surrounds a young star and is the site of planet formation.”

Associate Professor François Bouchy, from the UNIGE Department of Astronomy, said: “The WASP-132 system is a remarkable laboratory for studying the formation and evolution of multi-planetary systems.

“The discovery of a hot Jupiter alongside an inner super-Earth and a distant giant calls into question our understanding of the formation and evolution of these systems. This is the first time we have observed such a configuration.”

By precisely measuring the radius and mass of each of the discovered planets, the universities’ researchers were also able to determine the density and internal composition of the planets

The newly-discovered hot Jupiter orbits its star in seven days and three hours, while the super-Earth (a rocky planet six times Earth’s mass) orbits its star in only 24 hours and 17 minutes. The icy giant, however – five times the mass of Jupiter – orbits the host star in five years.

By precisely measuring the radius and mass of each of the discovered planets, the universities’ researchers were also able to determine the density and internal composition of the planets. For example, the super-Earth’s composition is similar to the composition of Earth, principally consisting of metals and silicates.

Observations of WASP-132 by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia satellite are still ongoing, and it is hoped that the satellite (which has been measuring variations in astral positions since 2014) may be able to reveal planetary companions of stars and their outer brown dwarfs.

The full research paper, produced by Warwick and the University of Geneva, can be found in Astronomy & Astrophysics: 2025, A&A, 693, A144.