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- Astronomers have observed what they think is a triple star system in space surrounded by a chaotic disk of dust that could form planets.
- The stars orbit each other and the dust disk is crushed in different directions.
- The researchers believe there is enough material orbiting these stars to form 30 Earths.
On Earth, we see a large star, the Sun, and lots of small ones in the distance. Science fiction has long promised that there are planets orbiting multiple stars, and science quickly backed this up. Now, in what could be a one-of-a-kind discovery, researchers believe they have detected a triple star system with a lot of material to create exoplanets.
The research, which was published in the journal Sciences, it can’t offer us anything conclusive in the form of a “world like Tatooine”, but it bothers us with the possibility. Is there a planet lurking in the mass of dust and debris? We can’t help but wonder.
As the scientists explain in the article, the trio of stars was discovered using the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory, with the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array. That’s a lot of cosmic observing power at work, and what the researchers detected was evidence of a three-star system tearing apart a disk of dust and material that would normally form planets and moons.
Usually when a star forms, it attracts nearby material, or sometimes that material is already waiting in orbit around the star, depending on where it formed. Over time, the material settles in a disk shape where matter accumulates in larger and larger spheres. Those orbs sometimes collide with each other, while other smaller chunks form moons that end up trapped in orbit around larger bodies. It’s a delicate dance, but when you add two more stars to the mix, things get really wild.
In this case, the disk itself has a ton of material ready to make planets. Researchers believe there are as many as 30 Earth masses of dust and debris there, swirling around the trio of stars as the stars themselves twist and turn around each other.
But what has disturbed the dust disk? Is it just the stars themselves or is there a massive planet lurking there, throwing things away? That’s what readers still don’t know. The simulations suggest that it is possible that the orbits of the stars around each other are enough to throw dust into the chaos they are observing, while other researchers argue that one planet must be responsible for the destruction of the dust ring.
Regardless of what is happening within the three-star system, it is unlike anything astronomers have been able to observe before. If there really is a planet revolving around this collection of chaotic stars, I bet the view from its surface would be something special.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as a technology editor at The Daily Dot and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and in many other print and web media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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