Astronomers have studied a triple star system that is unlike any previously observed. Unusual
One of the theories of system formation consistsin the fact that it originally consisted of two double pairs - the one located in the center, and the other rotating around it. Researchers suspect that the outer binary pair merged into one in the past in a process of cosmic cannibalism to create a single, more massive star. Based on extensive computer modeling, the team confirmed the absorption theory.
Triple, or tertiary star system TIC470710327 was discovered using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observatory. The trio is characterized by a hierarchical structure, meaning that a pair of binary stars orbit each other at the center of the system, while a third star orbits the central pair.
The TIC 470710327 system differs from others due toits size and shape. Its objects are much more massive than the typical stars found in such systems. The trio is more compact because they all exert a stronger gravitational pull than usual.
Double pair of stars in the center of TIC 470710327has a total mass of about 12 times that of the sun, and it takes the two stars just over one day to orbit each other. The larger outer star is even more massive, weighing about 16 times the Sun, and orbiting the binary pair once every 52 days, which is "quite fast considering their size," the scientists note.
Read more:
Physicists have found a universal "clock" in space: they are more accurate than atomic
Archaeologists have found drawings of creepy people with huge heads: who they were
The James Webb telescope took the first picture of Jupiter: it shows 9 moving targets at once