New Planet is Like 'Star Wars'' Tatooine (Infographic)

By Karl Tate
published

Newly discovered world orbits twin suns, just like the fictional home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker.
Newly discovered world orbits twin suns, just like the fictional home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com)

Astronomers on Sept. 15, 2011, announced the discovery of Kepler-16b, the first alien planet with two suns. The planet sees two sunsets just like Luke Skywalker did on Tatooine in the "Star Wars" science fiction universe. See how the twin suns are set up around the planet Kepler-16b in this SPACE.com infographic.

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Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.