Scientists confirmed the presence of a massive, one-of-a-kind, and unusually compact triple star system. Here’s everything you should know about the TIC470710327.
Triple star system located
Earlier this year, scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen announced the discovery of an unusual trio of stars. The system discovered by them consists of two stars that orbit one another and a third more massive star orbiting the pair. The research was published in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notices in June.
“As far as we know, it is the first of its kind ever detected. We know of many tertiary star systems (three star systems), but they are typically significantly less massive. The massive stars in this triple are very close together – it is a compact system,” stated Alejandro Vigna-Gomez. Vigna-Gomez is a postdoc at the institute and the corresponding author of the study.
More on the unique stars
The study reveals that the binary pair of stars dancing around each other at the center of the system has a combined mass adding up to twelve times the sun’s mass. The binary also has an orbital period that is about the same time duration as one day on Earth. While the binary at the center might sound like it consists of some massive stars, the tertiary star is around 16 times the mass of our Sun, making it even more massive.
The inner orbit of this triple star system is a circular shape. The tertiary star orbits the binary pair about six times a year. This is really fast when you consider the size of the stars in the system. The very luminous system was initially thought to be just a stellar binary when it was first detected.