Close A planetary system 897 light-years away from Earth consists of two planets that orbit a star, rotating backwards. It used to be presumed that the equator of a spinning star needs to line up with the orbital plane of its planets due to the fact that the stars and planets are both ultimately growing from the same spinning molecular cloud. As a result, the star needs to spin in the same direction that the planets are orbiting. However, the K2-290 system is not following this rule. Specifically, the K2-290 system comprises three stars, and it has a pair of planets that orbit the main star, identified as K2-290 A.