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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves

Published on: May 10, 2020

Exoplanet orbital eccentricity: multiplicity relation and the Solar System.

Mary Anne Limbach¹, Edwin L Turner²

¹Departments of Astrophysical Sciences and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544; and.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|December 17, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The Solar System is not unusual among exoplanetary systems. A new study reveals orbital eccentricity decreases with more planets, fitting our Solar System into the broader cosmic context.

Keywords:

Solar System dynamical evolution orbital eccentricities radial velocity

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Area of Science:

Exoplanetary Science
Astronomy
Astrophysics

Background:

Exoplanetary systems often display higher orbital eccentricities compared to our Solar System.
This has led to the prevailing view that the Solar System is atypical.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between orbital eccentricity and system multiplicity in exoplanetary systems.
To re-evaluate the Solar System's typicality within the broader population of planetary systems.

Main Methods:

Analysis of cataloged radial velocity (RV) exoplanetary systems.
Statistical examination of orbital eccentricity and the number of planets per system.
Extrapolation of observed trends to compare with the Solar System's configuration.

Main Results:

A strong anticorrelation was found between orbital eccentricity and system multiplicity.
The Solar System's eccentricity distribution aligns with this anticorrelation when its eight-planet multiplicity is considered.
Even as a single or double-planet system, the Solar System occupies a common region in eccentricity-multiplicity space.

Conclusions:

The Solar System is not anomalous regarding orbital eccentricities when system multiplicity is accounted for.
Orbital eccentricity decreases as a power law with increasing system multiplicity (index -1.20).
Low eccentricities may favor higher planet multiplicities, potentially increasing the prevalence of habitable systems.