A three-star star system discovered by scientists
The Universe never ceases to reveal to us the wonders it conceals. Recently, a team of scientists discovered a star system very special. This is a system consisting of three stars.
This unusual system is composed of two stars orbiting each otheras well as of a third star which orbits around the binary system formed by the first two. According Axiosit is very likely that this ternary system is the product of two binary systems having suffered at least one merger.
In June, the team of international scientists published a study on the subject in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. On August 30, Axios revealed additional details about these stars.
A rare discovery
According to the explanations of Alejandro Vigna-Gomez, co-author of the study, it is the first time that we detect a system of this kind. He added that we already know several ternary star systems. However, these systems are generally significantly less massive. In this newly discovered system, the stars are massive and they are very close to each other. It’s about of a compact system.
The data shows that the two stars of the binary system combined are 12 times larger than the Sun. As for the third star, its mass is 16 times greater than that of the Sun.
The research continues
Among the scientists who discovered this three-star system, two researchers want to know if there are still other systems similar to this one. For this, they encourage the public to recheck the same data they had already used. It is known that the initial discovery of this system was made by amateurs who used NASA observations. But amateur astronomers “citizen scientists” initially believed that there were only two stars in the system.
According to Bin Liu, co-author of the study, there may be more compact systems hidden in the data. He added that what they really want to know is if this kind of system is common in the Universe.
By studying these different types of star systems, astronomers can better understand the formation of stars and planets in the Universe.
SOURCE: Futuristic
