Tag

Binary Stars

All articles tagged with #binary stars

astronomy26 days ago•26 min saved

Betelgeuse's Secret Twin Emerges: Betelgeuse B Unveiled as a Companion

A sharp image from ESO's Very Large Telescope reveals a faint companion near Betelgeuse, named Betelgeuse B: a young, hot star about 2.6–3.1 solar masses orbiting the red supergiant at roughly the Saturn–Sun distance. The finding, supported by two independent image-processing methods and strong statistical significance, suggests Betelgeuse is a binary/multiple system; although orbital motion still needs to be observed to confirm binding, the result has important implications for how massive stars form and how their winds and mass loss operate.

via ZME Science|

#astronomy #betelgeuse #betelgeuse-b

space1 month ago•105 min saved

First known binary-star pair where both stars exploded as supernovae

Astronomers analyzing 16+ years of multiwavelength data (including NASA’s Fermi gamma-ray observations) identify IC 443, the Jellyfish Nebula, and the nearby remnant G189.6+3.3 as a likely first binary-star supernova pair: two massive stars that exploded within the same interstellar cloud, about 30–50 light-years apart. IC 443 is estimated at 8,000–9,000 years old, while G189.6+3.3 is older (20,000–110,000 years). The odds of a random alignment are ~1 in 1,000, suggesting a genuine binary progenitor and providing insights into how massive binary stars evolve and end their lives.

via Space|

#binary-stars #g189633 #ic-443-jellyfish-nebula

space1 month ago•13 min saved

Directly imaged planet orbits two suns closer than any prior circumbinary world

A young giant planet about 5.6 times Jupiter’s mass, HD 143811 AB b, was directly imaged in a binary star system roughly 446 light-years away. It orbits the two stars at about 63 AU with a 320-year period, six times closer to the stellar pair than any previously imaged circumbinary planet. The discovery, made through reanalysis of archival Gemini/GPI and Keck/NIRC2 data, challenges current ideas about planet formation and migration in dynamically complex circumbinary disks and provides a valuable three-body laboratory for refining models of how such worlds form and evolve.

via Space Daily|

#astronomy #binary-stars #direct-imaging

space2 months ago•7 min saved

Twin Supernova Remnants Hint at Exploding Stellar Siblings

Using 16 years of Fermi gamma-ray data, astronomers found gamma rays from the faint remnant G189.6+3.3 overlapping the Jellyfish Nebula, supporting a binary-star origin where both exploded and left two interacting remnants about 6,000 light-years away in Gemini; ages range ~8–9k and 20k–110k years, with simulations showing such dual explosions are plausible and possibly linked to PeVatron acceleration.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#binary-stars #fermi-lat #gamma-rays

space2 months ago•96 min saved

Binary star's metal boost hints at planet-devouring history

Astronomers studying the HD 81809 binary found that the secondary star HD 81809B has a higher abundance of metals and lithium at its surface than its companion, likely because it swallowed a planet (possibly up to ~75 Earth masses). This chemical difference is the first of its kind in a binary system, with two explanations proposed—the stars formed from different clouds or the engulfment event. The lithium enrichment and a possible debris disk provide evidence for planetary ingestion, though the exact number and makeup of swallowed planets remain uncertain.

via Space|

#astronomy #binary-stars #exoplanets

space3 months ago•4 min saved

TESS Finds 27 Hidden Worlds by Timing Eclipses in Binary Stars

NASA’s TESS analyzed 1,590 eclipsing binaries and found 27 candidate exoplanets by timing the stars’ mutual eclipses, a method that can detect planets even when they don’t transit. The candidates range from ~12 Earth masses to ~10 Jupiter masses, with confirmation needing follow-up velocity measurements; the work expands planet searches in binary systems beyond the standard transit approach.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#binary-stars #eclipsing-binaries #exoplanets

science3 months ago•32 min saved

Twin-sun worlds: 27 circumbinary planet candidates spotted in latest survey

A new survey using data from NASA’s TESS telescope identified 27 strong circumbinary planet candidates orbiting binary star systems (out of 1,590 binaries), suggesting there could be thousands of such planets hiding in the galaxy. Planets are inferred from variations in the stars’ eclipse timings, and while the candidates range from Neptune-sized to up to Jupiter-sized, they require future observations to confirm their status.

via Yahoo News Canada|

#binary-stars #circumbinary-planets #exoplanets

science3 months ago•3 min saved

Two-Sun Worlds: 27 Candidate Circumbinary Planets Uncovered

Astronomers using apsidal precession timing of eclipsing binary stars and NASA’s TESS data identified 27 new candidate planets that would orbit two stars. Distances range from 650 to 18,000 light-years, adding to about 18 previously known circumbinary planets. Follow-up spectral analysis is needed to confirm whether these bodies are planets (likely Neptune-sized to ~10 Jupiter masses) or brown dwarfs/stars. The study was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

via The Guardian|

#astronomy #binary-stars #circumbinary-planets

space3 months ago•71 min saved

Two suns, more worlds: binary stars may birth more planets than single stars

New simulations suggest planets may form more easily in the outer parts of circumbinary disks around binary stars, as inner zones near the stars are too chaotic. Beyond a “forbidden zone,” disks can become gravitationally unstable and fragment to form multiple planets—often gas giants—while some worlds may be ejected as rogue planets. The study implies binary-star systems could host many planets, making Tatooine-like worlds less rare, and points to ALMA, JWST, and future telescopes to observe such disks; over 50 circumbinary planets are already known.

via Space|

#binary-stars #exoplanets #planet-formation

astronomy4 months ago•4 min saved

Relativity Could Explain Why Circumbinary Planets Are So Rare

Astronomers expected hundreds of planets orbiting binary stars, but only 14 have been found. New work in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests Einstein’s general relativity drives precession of the stars’ orbits that resonates with a planet’s orbit, destabilizing it. In tight binaries, this leads to a large instability zone and an “80% survival gap” in which planets are likely ejected or swallowed by the stars. As a result, there’s a desert of circumbinary planets for systems with orbital periods under about seven days, and most observed planets sit just outside the unstable region—likely formed farther out and migrated inward to the stability edge.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astronomy #binary-stars #circumbinary

space-and-spaceflight5 months ago•16 min saved

Astronomers Spot the Tiniest Packed Quadruple Star System

Using NASA’s TESS data from 2019–2024, astronomers identified TIC 120362137 as the most compact 3+1 quadruple star system: an eclipsing binary eclipsed by a third star, plus a distant fourth star with a 1,045.5‑day orbit—the shortest outer period observed in such a configuration. The inner three stars are packed within Mercury’s orbital distance while the outer companion sits near Jupiter’s orbit. The team’s models suggest the inner trio will merge into a white dwarf in ~300 million years, leaving a double white-dwarf system with a ~44‑day orbit.

via Gizmodo|

#binary-stars #quadruple-star-system #space-and-spaceflight

astronomy6 months ago•50 min saved

Einstein’s relativity could veil a hidden population of binary-star exoplanets

Astronomers argue there may be hundreds to thousands of Tatooine‑like exoplanets in the Milky Way, but the observed scarcity of circumbinary worlds stems from a GR‑driven resonance in tight binary systems that destabilizes planetary orbits, combined with biases in Kepler/TESS detections that make these planets hard to find.

via Space|

#astronomy #binary-stars #circumbinary

space6 months ago•5 min saved

Longest Gamma-Ray Burst Rewrites Rules on Cosmic Explosions

Astronomers detected GRB 250702B, a gamma-ray burst lasting about 25,000 seconds (roughly seven hours)—the longest on record—observed by multiple space-based telescopes since mid-2025; its sustained, evolving profile challenges standard GRB classifications and may point to a helium-star merger with a stellar-mass black hole, while no redshift or host galaxy has been identified yet. The finding highlights potential detection biases against long, lower-brightness bursts and has spurred plans to revise criteria for future missions like NASA/ESA’s COSI and to re-examine archival data for overlooked events.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astronomy #astrophysics #binary-stars

science6 months ago•11 min saved

A cosmic heartbeat: white dwarf binaries explain puzzling slow radio pulses

A new study argues that the longest-lived long-period transient GPM J1839-10 is a white-dwarf–M-dwarf binary whose rotating magnetic field drives radio beams, potentially linking long-period transients to white-dwarf pulsars and explaining the puzzling, repeating radio pulses.

via The Conversation|

#binary-stars #gpm-j1839-10 #long-period-transients

space7 months ago•16 min saved

Quiet White Dwarf Sparks Mysterious Bow Shock

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope observed a glowing bow shock around the white dwarf RXJ0528+2838 in a binary system, even though the star shows no accretion disc or obvious outflow. The shock, visible in red, green, and blue, appears to have been powered for about 1,000 years, challenging standard models of how matter moves in such systems. A strong magnetic field could be funneling material from the companion directly onto the dead star without forming a disc, but this mechanism, if real, would only partly explain the phenomenon, leaving the exact origin of the outflow a mystery as reported in Nature Astronomy.

via Gizmodo|

#astronomy #binary-stars #bow-shocks