Donna Lu, writing for The Guardian:

Astronomers have discovered 27 new potential planets that orbit two stars, like the fictional desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe.

To date, only about 18 circumbinary planets – which orbit around two stars – had been identified in the universe. […]

In a timely publication for 4 May, also known as Star Wars Day, scientists have identified nearly 30 more candidate planets, whose distances range from 650 to 18,000 light years away from Earth.

“There are many things in astronomy that aren’t very tangible,” said Associate Prof Ben Montet of the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the study’s senior author. But thanks to the famous Tatooine sunset scene in the first Star Wars film, “everyone has a picture of what a circumbinary planet looks like and what would it mean to stand on a planet with two suns”.

See, movies are educational. (We also learned from Star Wars that blocking trade routes can lead to turmoil, and destroying an entire civilization makes you the bad guy.)

May the Fourth Be With You. Or, as Guardian readers would say, Fourth of May Be With You.