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    Ultracool Dwarf Binary Stars tagged posts

    Ultracool Dwarf Binary Stars Break Records

    March 3, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The researchers say that by studying similar star systems, we can learn more about potentially habitable planets beyond Earth. Ultracool dwarfs are much fainter and dimmer than the sun, so any worlds with liquid water on their surfaces — a crucial ingredient to form and sustain life — would need to be much closer to the star. NASA/JPL Caltech image

    Astrophysicists discover the closest and oldest ultracool dwarf binary ever observed. Northwestern University and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed.

    The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star’s “year” lasts just 17 hours.

    The newly discovered ...

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    Ultracool Dwarf Binary Stars Break Records

    January 12, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Credit: Adam Burgasser/University of California San Diego

    Northwestern University and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed.

    The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star’s “year” lasts just 20.5 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 bi...

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