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The discovery of the first compact star system with three suns

The discovery of the first compact star system with three suns

TIC 470710327

Robert Clatt

  • Astronomy enthusiasts General data from NASA’s TESS Space Telescope anomaly in Star System Tech 470710327 have found
  • Scientists at the University of Copenhagen, based on the evidence, have it The first combined star system with three suns Discover
  • in this system Two suns in the center from one The Great Outer Orbits of the Sun

Hints by amateur astronomers led to the discovery of the first compact star system with three suns.


Copenhagen, Denmark). In the Universe There are a variety of binary systems, that is, two star systems stars. According to NASA estimates, ternary systems are also not common. About ten percent of all systems should have three stars. Now scientists have University of Copenhagen Discover the first compact triple system.


According to their publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society The star system TIC 470710327 differs from other star systems in terms of how close the three stars are to each other. In addition, the mass of TIC 470710327 stars is much higher than in the previously discovered triple systems.


12 times the mass of our sun

In the center of the system, two stars revolve around each other. Together they have about 12 times our mass Sun. It takes about 24 hours for the stars to orbit each other.

The third star of TIC 470710327 is located in an outer orbit. It orbits the two stars at the center of the system and about 16 solar masses. It orbits the two completely inner stars in about 52 days. For the size of stars, this is relatively fast, according to astronomers. The orbit of the outer star is elliptical, while the two stars in the center have circular orbits.

Does TIC 470710327 have a 4th star?

As explained by astronomers, the properties of the star system TIC 470710327 are very unusual. According to the authors, this is probably because TIC 470710327 was originally a quadrilateral system, with two stars orbiting two stars in the center. The two outer stars can then merge into one large star.

Alternatively, the characteristics of TIC 470710327 can also be explained by the fact that the outer star formed first. It may then have been ejected of material that gave rise to two smaller stars inside. However, this scenario is considered highly unlikely.


A third possibility that explains the properties of TIC 470710327 is that the two stars in the center and the third outer star formed independently. As they roamed through the universe, gravity could have caused them to merge into a triple system. However, this interpretation is also considered unlikely, since in such a system a large star will be more in the center.

Using computer simulations, the researchers examined three possible scenarios. According to the results, it is likely that TIC 470710327 originated from a 2 + 2 star system.

Classification as a binary system

The compact triple system 470710327 was only discovered because a group of amateur astronomers analyzed public data from NASA’s TESS Space Telescope. The system was previously classified as a binary system due to the brightness of massive stars.

Because amateur astronomers found anomalies in the data, professional astronomers re-analyzed the star system and were able to confirm that it was a compact triple system.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slac067