by Ann » Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:58 pm
This is absolutely interesting, if only because so many stars in the Milky Way are members of binaries or multiple star systems. Of course we want to know how "twin stars" form.
It is, by the way, my impression that the individual members of close binaries are indeed often "twins", which is to say that they are of comparable masses. Of course, even a tiny difference in mass makes a huge difference in the properties of the stars, but even so, we really do see a lot of "similarly massive binaries". Excellent examples are 61 Cygni, a pair of K-type stars, and
Epsilon Lyrae, two pairs of A-type binaries.
To me, the stars of today's APOD look small, and the entire process of their formation looks, well, "puny". So I'm going to guess that the stars of the APOD are going to be M-type main sequence stars when they are "born". In other words, they are going to be little red dwarfs, the most common stars in the Universe.
High mass star formation in the Milky Way. Photo: Atlasgal.
But you know me, I prefer high-mass stars over low-mass ones. So here is a picture of high-mass star formation in the Milky Way. If you want to know more about Atlasgal and the image I posted, here is some additional info:
ESO wrote:
A spectacular new image of the Milky Way has been released to mark the completion of the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL). The APEX telescope in Chile has mapped the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere at submillimetre wavelengths — between infrared light and radio waves. This is the sharpest such map yet made, and complements those from recent space-based surveys. The pioneering 12-metre APEX telescope allows astronomers to study the cold Universe: gas and dust only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.
Ann
This is absolutely interesting, if only because so many stars in the Milky Way are members of binaries or multiple star systems. Of course we want to know how "twin stars" form.
[float=left][img2]http://cloudynights.com/images/2017/2017-09_CC_files/61_Cygni_Proper_Motion.gif[/img2][c][size=85]61 Cygni. IndividusObservantis (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.[/size][/c][/float] It is, by the way, my impression that the individual members of close binaries are indeed often "twins", which is to say that they are of comparable masses. Of course, even a tiny difference in mass makes a huge difference in the properties of the stars, but even so, we really do see a lot of "similarly massive binaries". Excellent examples are 61 Cygni, a pair of K-type stars, and [url=https://en.es-static.us/upl/2009/01/epsilon-lyrae-jeremy-perez-belt-of-venus.jpg]Epsilon Lyrae[/url], two pairs of A-type binaries.
To me, the stars of today's APOD look small, and the entire process of their formation looks, well, "puny". So I'm going to guess that the stars of the APOD are going to be M-type main sequence stars when they are "born". In other words, they are going to be little red dwarfs, the most common stars in the Universe.
[float=right][img2]https://cdn.eso.org/images/newsfeature/eso1606a.jpg[/img2][c][size=85]High mass star formation in the Milky Way. Photo: Atlasgal.[/size][/c][/float]
But you know me, I prefer high-mass stars over low-mass ones. So here is a picture of high-mass star formation in the Milky Way. If you want to know more about Atlasgal and the image I posted, here is some additional info:
[quote][url=https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1606/]ESO[/url] wrote:
A spectacular new image of the Milky Way has been released to mark the completion of the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL). The APEX telescope in Chile has mapped the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere at submillimetre wavelengths — between infrared light and radio waves. This is the sharpest such map yet made, and complements those from recent space-based surveys. The pioneering 12-metre APEX telescope allows astronomers to study the cold Universe: gas and dust only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.[/quote]
Ann