Binary Stars

JUSTINE MANGABAN
7- DESCARTES
What are Binary Stars?
Binary stars are two stars orbiting a
common center of mass
Binary Classifications
•Wide binaries are stars that have orbits that keep them
spread apart from one another. 
•Close binaries are able to transfer their mass from one
to the other.
•Visual binaries are two stars with a wide enough
separation that both can be viewed through a telescope,
or even with a pair of binoculars.
•Spectroscopic binaries appear close even when
viewed through a telescope. 
•Eclipsing binaries are two stars whose orbits are at an
angle so that, from Earth, one passes in front of the other,
causing an eclipse.
Binary Classifications
•Astrometric binary stars are systems in which only
one star can be observed, and the other’s presence is
inferred by the noticeable wobble of the first star. 
•Double stars are two that appear close together in the
sky visually, but are not necessarily anywhere near one
another in space.
 Trivia
•English astronomer William Herschel (1738–1822) made
the first discovery of a true binary system in the 1700s.
He observed the motion of a pair of stars and concluded
that they were in orbit around each other. Herschel's
discovery provided the first evidence that gravity exists
out-side our solar system.
•Some orbit black holes
One famous binary system, located about 6,070 light
years from Earth, consists of a blue supergiant star and a
suspected black hole known as Cygnus X-1, the latter
being 14.8 times the mass of the Sun.
•Binary stars can be invisible
In some instances the second star of a binary system
might be a dim brown dwarf or neutron star, only making
itself apparent through its gravitational influence on its
partner.
 References
•https://www.universetoday.com/24203/what-is-a-binary-st
ar/

• https://www.space.com/22509-binary-stars.html

•http://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/ast
ronomy-and-space-exploration/astronomy-general/binary-
star
•https://www.spaceanswers.com/deep-space/if-photons-of-
light-have-no-mass-how-can-space-be-bent-by-gravity/