Binary systems are actually very common. Astronomers believe that more than half of the stars in our galaxy are binaries.
--- Cliff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've never heard that Polaris is a binary star - the > star catalog I > consulted didn't mention that. Alpha Centauri, our > near > neighbor, is actually a trinary star system (Alpha, > Beta and > Proxima Centauri), so maybe thatwas the system you > were > thinking of? > > On binary stars supporting habitable planets - I've > read > research that it is possible for a planet to have a > stable orbit > in the "liquid water zone" in a binary system as > long as the > primary is a relatively large star and the secondary > is a very > small star quite far away (like much further away > than Pluto > is from our sun). The gravitational influence of > the the > secondary is then small enough to not substantially > perturb > the planetary orbit. Some very cool computer > simulations > were done showing that a planet could have a stable > orbit over the hundreds of millions or even billions > of > years needed to create life (unless, of course, you > go > with the Kentucky museum that shows dinosaurs and > people > in picture together and goes with the Biblical 5000 > or so > years...). > > The article did say that this would probably be a > fairly > unlikely configuration, however, and therefore > multi-star > systems were unlikely to have planets suitable for > life as > we currently know it. > > --- In [email protected], Rick Archer > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > on 6/1/05 2:57 PM, gullible fool at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > > > > > > > > And which one? It's a binary star. > > > > Could habitable planets orbit a binary star? Seems > to me their orbits would > > be too erratic to make climates survivable. But > maybe these are subtle > > sidhas who don't care about gross stuff like > weather. > > > > > > --- Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > >> on 6/1/05 2:11 PM, lupidus108 at > > >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > >> > > >>> (Though he > > >>> has indicated that 1000 Siddhas are waiting on > the > > >> Polar Star for the > > >>> right time to come to earth.) > > >> > > >> When and where and in what context did he say > this? > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
