Astronomers discover dwarf binary star system invisible to the human eye
Using the infrared instrument on the Keck telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered a dwarf binary star system invisible to the human eye, with the tightest orbit ever seen.
The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other; each star’s “year” lasts just 17 hours.
The newly discovered system, named LP 413-53AB, is composed of a pair of ultracool dwarfs, a class of very low-mass stars that are so cool that they emit their light primarily in the infrared, making them completely invisible to the human eye. They are nonetheless one of the most common types of stars in the universe.
Previously, astronomers had only detected three short-period ultracool dwarf binary systems, all of which are relatively young — up to 40 million years old. LP 413-53AB is estimated to be billions of years old — similar in age to our Sun — but has an orbital period that is about four times shorter than all the ultracool dwarf binaries discovered so far.
The two stars’ mutual orbit generally places them only about 600,000 miles apart. For comparison, the Moon orbits the Earth at a distance of 240,000 miles.
Using the infrared instrument on the Keck telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered a dwarf binary star system invisible to the human eye, with the tightest orbit ever seen.
The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other; each star’s “year” lasts just 17 hours.
The newly discovered system, named LP 413-53AB, is composed of a pair of ultracool dwarfs, a class of very low-mass stars that are so cool that they emit their light primarily in the infrared, making them completely invisible to the human eye. They are nonetheless one of the most common types of stars in the universe.
Previously, astronomers had only detected three short-period ultracool dwarf binary systems, all of which are relatively young — up to 40 million years old. LP 413-53AB is estimated to be billions of years old — similar in age to our Sun — but has an orbital period that is about four times shorter than all the ultracool dwarf binaries discovered so far.
The two stars’ mutual orbit generally places them only about 600,000 miles apart. For comparison, the Moon orbits the Earth at a distance of 240,000 miles.