"'This strange disorder makes it a unique inside-out system,' said Dr Thomas Wilson, first author of the study. 'Rocky planets don't usually form far away from their home star, on the outside of the gaseous worlds.'"
"'By the time this final outer planet formed, the system may have already run out of gas, which is considered vital for planet formation,' Dr Wilson explained. 'Yet here is a small, rocky world, defying expectations. 'It seems that we have found first evidence for a planet that formed in a gas-depleted environment.'"
LHS 1903 is a cool faint red dwarf star hosting four planets arranged unusually: a rocky world, two gaseous worlds, and then an outer rocky planet. Typical systems have rocky planets close to the star and gas giants farther out because stellar radiation strips nearby atmospheres while distant planets retain gas. Observations from the European Space Agency's Cheops satellite identified a rocky planet on the system's fringes. Planetary swapping and collision scenarios were ruled out. Evidence indicates the planets formed sequentially from inner to outer, and the final outer planet formed when the system's gas reservoir was largely depleted. Whether similar systems exist remains unknown.
Read at Mail Online
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