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A multiple star system consists of two or more stars that appear from Earth to be close to one another in the sky. [dubious – discuss] This may result from the stars actually being physically close and gravitationally bound to each other, in which case it is a physical multiple star, or this closeness may be merely apparent, in which case it is an optical multiple star [a] Physical multiple ...
A circumtriple planet is a celestial mass that is hypothesized to be orbiting not only a single star but three stars at the same time. [1] Scientists observing the star system GW Ori , which is a huge disk of dust and gases about 1,300 light years away from Earth, suspect that there may be a circumtriple planet orbiting the three stars. [ 2 ]
The Kepler-444 system consists of the planet hosting primary and a pair of M-dwarf stars. The M-dwarfs orbit each other at a distance of less than 0.3 AU while the pair orbits the primary in a highly eccentric 324-year orbit. The pair comes within 23.55 AU of the primary potentially truncating the protoplanetary disk from which the planets ...
In astronomy, a co-orbital configuration is a configuration of two or more astronomical objects (such as asteroids, moons, or planets) orbiting at the same, or very similar, distance from their primary; i.e., they are in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance. (or 1:-1 if orbiting in opposite directions). [1]
A binary star or binary star system is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved as separate stars using a telescope, in which case they are called visual binaries. Many visual binaries have long ...
About half of all the stars in the sky are part of binary systems, with two stars orbiting each other. Some binary stars orbit each other so closely that they share the same atmosphere, giving the system a peanut shape. While most such contact binary systems are stable, some do become unstable and either eject one partner or eventually merge.
Because the orbits of all the planets in the Solar System (as well as the Moon) are inclined by only a few degrees, they always appear very near the ecliptic in our sky. Therefore, although an apparent planetary alignment may appear as a line (actually, a great arc ), the planets are not necessarily aligned in space.
Alpha Tauri CD is a binary system with the C and D component stars gravitationally bound to and co-orbiting each other. These co-orbiting stars have been shown to be located far beyond Aldebaran and are members of the Hyades star cluster. As with the rest of the stars in the cluster they do not physically interact with Aldebaran in any way. [32]