Astronomers studying exoplanets have found one with a very odd system. It orbits two stars! There have been planets discovered that orbit one of two binary stars, or that orbit a star and a burned-out star, but this one actually orbits around two real stars. The planet is named Kepler-16, meaning it was discovered by data gathered from the orbiting Kepler observatory. However, astronomers have already nicknamed it Tattooine, after the double-sun planet where Luke Skywalker grew up.
Read more about it, including more Star Wars puns, at Bad Astronomy Blog. Link
And while there are two stars involved in heating the planet, their light is pretty feeble. Even at its distance of a little over 100 million kilometers (65 million miles) from the pair — roughly the same distance at which Venus orbits the Sun — Kepler-16b is cold: the temperature at its cloud tops (assuming it’s a gas giant like Saturn) would be at best -70°C (-100°F).
So any visions you have of Luke Skywalker standing in the desert with his leg resting on a rock while he wistfully watches the two suns set in the west may have to wait. Even if the planet has a big moon (which these observations cannot yet detect) conditions there would be a bit chillier than on Tatooine. More like Hoth.
Read more about it, including more Star Wars puns, at Bad Astronomy Blog. Link