Astronomers have discovered a planet with an unusual orbital inclination

An international team of astronomers has found out that the exoplanet TOI-3884b rotates around its star at an angle of about 62 degrees to the axis of rotation of the star. This was reported on December 4 in the journal Science Daily.

Astronomers observed three transits of TOI-3884b in February and March 2024 using the multi-color MuSCAT3 and MuSCAT4 cameras on the two-meter LCO telescopes. As the planet passed through dark areas on the surface of the red dwarf TOI-3884, known as star spots, characteristic changes in the light curves were recorded. These signals allowed us to determine the temperature of the spots and estimate that they cover about 15% of the visible surface.

To clarify the rotation period of the star, the team conducted a photometric observation from December 2024 to March 2025 using a network of 1 m diameter telescopes around the world. Regular brightness changes showed that TOI-3884 makes a complete revolution in 11.05 days.

By comparing the data on the position of the starspots with transit observations, the researchers reconstructed the three-dimensional configuration of the system. They found that the axis of rotation of the star and the axis of the planet's orbit differ by about 62 degrees, indicating a strong inclination of the orbit. Such strong inclinations are usually associated with interactions with massive planets or stellar companions, however, no such objects have been found in the TOI-3884 system, which makes it particularly interesting for further research.

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