Astronomers Uncover Real-Existence Tatooine

This just in from space: The recently-discovered planet Kepler 16b already includes a movie-friendly nickname thanks to the astronomers who thought it was: Tatooine. Like it is the first planet that earthbound stargazers have ever found which orbits two suns -- much like Luke Skywalker's home world in 'Star Wars.' "Reality has finally swept up with sci-fi,Inch stated Alan P. Boss from the Carnegie Institution, an associate from the research team that found the brand new planet, in a press conference yesterday, based on the NY Occasions. Much is made from the link between reality and sci-fi throughout Thursday's announcement at NASA's Ames Research Laboratory in Mountain View, California. Actually, John Knoll, a visible effects supervisor at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Miracle who done several 'Star Wars' movies, was available in the event and demonstrated a clip from 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A Brand New Hope' that represents Tatooine's famous binary sunset. 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A Brand New Hope': The Binary Sunset on Tatooine Based on the astronomers -- who made the invention via NASA's Kepler spacecraft -- Tatooine is probably a ball of gas and rock that's about how big Saturn. It's 200 light-years away, within the Cygnus constellation. The 2 suns will vary dimensions, and both of them are much more compact than our sun. Tatooine is all about as not even close to the middle of its photo voltaic system as Venus comes from our sun. The earth orbits the happy couple of suns once every 229 days. The 2 suns spin around one another every 41 days. The invention of Tatooine is forcing astronomers to re-think their ideas of methods planets form and get stable orbits, since Kepler 16b is two times as near to its two suns as earlier models had predicted. Researchers have discovered vast amounts of binary star systems, although not so far they have confirmed the presence of a planet revolving about them. Weather-smart, Kepler 16b is nearer to frigid Hoth (of 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back') than towards the sweltering desert realm of Tatooine as portrayed through the 'Star Wars' saga. The shifting suns cause rapid and dramatic versions in temperature, which could range from minus 100 to minus 150 levels Fahrenheit within days. Lucasfilm's Kroll appeared not disappointed with that discrepancy. "Over and over we have seen the science is stranger and weirder than fiction," he stated. "The information on this discovery provides for us induce to dream bigger." [NY Occasions via EW/PopWatch] Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images