Star Wars Dream Realized: Three Earth-Sized Exoplanets Found with Potential Double Sunsets

Astronomers have made a record-breaking discovery, identifying three Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting a pair of closely-packed twin stars, a system known as TOI-2267. This unique arrangement suggests that these worlds could experience the awe-inspiring sight of a double sunset, a feature reminiscent of the fictional planet Tatooine in the Star Wars saga.

Breaking Planetary Formation Models

Located approximately 190 light-years from Earth, the TOI-2267 system is a compact binary—meaning its two stars orbit each other in close proximity. This type of environment was previously theorized to be hostile to the formation of complex planetary configurations due to gravitational instability. The discovery of three planets, all roughly Earth-sized, thriving in this system challenges our current understanding of how planets form and maintain stability in multi-star environments.

The team, utilizing data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), found a truly unique planetary architecture:

• Two of the planets are orbiting and transiting one star.
• The third planet is orbiting and transiting its companion star.

This makes TOI-2267 the first binary system known to host transiting planets around both of its stars.

A Natural Laboratory for Extreme Worlds

The planets themselves are also setting new records. The discovery breaks the record for being the most compact and coldest pair of stars with planets known. Researchers suggest the TOI-2267 system provides an “authentic natural laboratory” to test the limits of planet formation theories in complex and dynamically severe environments.

While the two stars in the system are red dwarfs and relatively dim—meaning the second “sunset” might be more like a very bright full moon than a full-daylight star—the gravitational gymnastics guarantee a double-star experience. The discovery opens a rare opportunity to gain deeper insight into the incredible variety of planetary architectures that exist across our galaxy.

Future observations using instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope are expected to precisely measure the masses, densities, and potentially the atmospheric chemistry of the newly identified worlds. This will provide critical data on how rocky planets can form and endure in systems previously thought unsuitable for stable planetary existence.