Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
Masses of stars can be found only from binary systems and only if the scale of the orbits of the stars around each other is known. Binary stars are divided into three categories, depending on the mode of observation employed: visual binaries, spectroscopic binaries, and eclipsing binaries.
That agrees with equation (6) when one body is so small that its mass can be neglected. The rescaled formula can be used to determine the separate masses of binary stars (pairs of stars orbiting around each other) that are a known distance from the solar system. Equation (9) determines the sum of the masses; and, if R1 and R2 are the distances of the...
Many stars occur in binary systems (see binary star), with the two partners in orbits around their mutual centre of mass. Such a system provides the best measurement of stellar masses. The period (P) of a binary system is related to the masses of the two stars (m1 and m2) and the orbital semimajor axis (mean radius; a) via Kepler’s third law:...
Most novas are thought to occur in double-star systems in which members revolve closely around each other. Both members of such a system, commonly called a close binary star, are aged: one is a red giant and the other a white dwarf. In certain cases, the red giant expands into the gravitational domain of its companion. The gravitational field of the white dwarf is so strong that hydrogen-rich...
...massive stars that blow off a thick envelope of material from their surface in a stellar wind as they near the end of their lives. In addition, lunar occultations are useful for discovering binary stars, and systematic surveys of the sky are made for this purpose.
If the relative orbit of a visual binary system is known, the following relation connects the combined mass, M, of the two stars, expressed in the Sun’s mass as unit; the orbital period, P, expressed in years, the semimajor axis of the relative orbit; a, expressed in seconds of arc; and the parallax p: p =...
In an eclipsing variable, one member of a double, or binary, star system partially blocks the light of its companion as it passes in front of the latter, as observed from Earth. Each time this happens, the brightness of the entire system fluctuates. Such an eclipsing variable is perhaps best exemplified by the binary star Algol, whose name means “blinking demon.”
The most powerful X-ray sources in the Milky Way Galaxy are certain binary stars. These so-called X-ray binaries have an X-ray output 1,000 times as great as the Sun’s output at all wavelengths. X-ray binaries account for most of the sources discovered during the initial years of X-ray astronomy, including Scorpius X-1. A typical X-ray binary source consists of a close double star system in...
in electromagnetic radiation: X rays )X-ray astronomy has revealed very strong sources of X rays in deep space. In the Milky Way Galaxy, of which the solar system is a part, the most intense sources are certain double star systems in which one of the two stars is thought to be either a compact neutron star or a black hole. The ionized gas of the circling companion star falls by gravitation into the compact star, generating X rays...
American astronomer who specialized in the study of double stars, of which he discovered more than 3,000.
John Herschel’s first major task in astronomy was the reobservation of the double stars cataloged by his father. The movements of these pairs of stars about each other offered the best hope of investigating the gravitational forces operating in the universe. John was fortunate to find in James South a collaborator who was able to afford the refined instruments best suited for this work. The...
...sweeps for nebulae (1783–1802) resulted in three catalogs listing 2,500 nebulae and star clusters that he substituted for the 100 or so milky patches previously known. He also cataloged 848 double stars—pairs of stars that appear close together in space, and measurements of the comparative brightness of stars. He observed that double stars did not occur by chance as a result of...
...His contributions to astronomy included the first realistic estimate of the distance between the Earth and a star and the suggestion, later verified by the English astronomer John Herschel, that binary stars are physically close to and in orbit around each other.
Until 1920 Russell’s research interests ranged widely in planetary and stellar astronomy and astrophysics. He developed quick and efficient means for the analysis of the orbits of binary stars. Most notable were his methods for calculating the masses and dimensions of eclipsing variable stars—that is, binary stars that appear to move in front of each other as they orbit about their common...
one of the greatest 19th-century astronomers and the first in a line of four generations of distinguished astronomers, who founded the modern study of binary (double) stars.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "binary star" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.