article_snippet: The amazing discovery, the second of all of which kind, suggests that planets in four-star systems are much more common in the universe than thought.
article_snippet: And studying a multi-star system could reveal the effect multiple stars can have on a planet - and whether multiple stars make multiple stars more likely to turn into 'hot Jupiters'.
article_snippet: However, scientists had thought a multi-star system had three stars - not four.
article_snippet: This pair is This pair locked in a long-distance orbit with another pair of stars, known as 30 Ari A. The fourth star, found using instruments fitted to the Palomar Observatory in San Diego, marks only the second time a planet has been identified in a quadruple star system.
article_snippet: This latest discovery is important, though, because This latest discovery suggests that one in 25 sun-like stars are in a quadruple system, whereas previously they were thought to be much rarer. '
article_snippet: About four per cent of solar-type stars are in quadruple systems, which is up from previous estimates because observational techniques are steadily improving,' said co-author Dr Andrei Tokovinin of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
article_snippet: The four stars and one planet of a quadruple star system are illustrated in this diagram.
article_snippet: In recent years, dozens of planets with two or three parent stars have been found, including those with 'Tatooine' sunsets reminiscent of the Star Wars movies.
article_snippet: Finding planets with multiple parents isn't too much of a surprise, though, as binary stars are more common in our galaxy than single stars. '
article_snippet: Star systems come in myriad forms.
article_snippet: There can be single stars, binary stars, triple stars, even quintuple star systems,' said Dr Lewis Roberts of JPL, lead author of the new findings appearing in the journal Astronomical Journal.
article_snippet: Star systems, found using instruments fitted to the Palomar Observatory (pictuerd) in San Diego, marks only the second time a planet has been identified in a quadruple star system.
article_snippet: Star systems a quadruple star system is a companion of the primary star the planet orbits, and lies at a distance of 23 astronomical units from the planet - about the distance of Uranus to our own sun.
article_snippet: In addition to this discovery, made by studying hundreds of stars each night for stellar companions, the astronomers also identified a triple-star system called HD 2638.
article_snippet: This result strengthens the connection between multiple star systems and massive planets,' said Roberts.
highlights_snippet: Discovery suggests that 4% of sun-like stars are in quadruple systems .