binary stars

Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight

Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while the other is a "dead"…

2 weeks ago

Primordial Black Holes Could Kick Out Stars and Replace Them.

Primordial black holes formed during the earliest stages of the evolution of the universe. Their immense gravity may be playing…

4 months ago

Alpha Centauri Could Have a Super Jupiter in Orbit

The three-body problem is one of Nature's thorniest problems. The gravitational interactions and resulting movements of three bodies are notoriously…

5 months ago

Simulating the Last Moments Before Neutron Stars Merge

When stars reach the end of their life cycle, they shed their outer layers in a supernova. What is left…

5 months ago

Binary Stars Form in the Same Nebula But Aren’t Identical. Now We Know Why.

It stands to reason that stars formed from the same cloud of material will have the same metallicity. That fact…

7 months ago

Brown Dwarf Pairs Drift Apart in Old Age

The only thing worse than drifting through space for an eternity is doing it alone. Observations with the Hubble Space…

8 months ago

Vampire Stars Get Help from a Third Star to Feed

Some stars are stuck in bad binary relationships. A massive primary star feeds on its smaller companion, sucking gas from…

1 year ago

Giant Tidal Waves are Crashing Onto the Surface of an Enormous Star

Although the surface of a star seems quite different from the ocean, the underlying effect of gravity can create similar…

1 year ago

Evidence for Modified Gravity Found in the Motions of Binary Stars

There are two leading explanations for dark matter, massive particles that don't interact with regular matter apart from gravity and…

1 year ago

A Neutron Star is Unwinding a Companion Star

Astronomers have found a bizarre binary star system where a neutron star orbits with another star. Its companion used to…

1 year ago