“If there had been more explosions, the orbit would not have been circular,” Richardson said. “A typical supernova will not destroy the companion, but may further disrupt the orbit. For example, it may give a kick to the system that either makes the orbit more elliptical or even That sends the living star and the neutron star on rapid trajectories in opposite directions with momentum that could even send them out of the galaxy.
The type of binary system examined in this study is rare, with around 10 estimates of the number of stars known to exist in the Milky Way, about 100–400 billion.
Unlike the lone sun, perhaps half the stars in our galaxy live in binary systems. Scientists have considered whether planets capable of harboring life exist in such systems, as demonstrated, for example, with Tatooine, the home planet of the “Star Wars” character Luke Skywalker.
“We know of some systems that are binaries with planets, but these are hard to confirm, and all of them are for stars with masses like our Sun,” Richardson said. “In the case of these massive stars, we haven’t detected planets around them yet. The stars weigh much more and are much more luminous than stars like the Sun, making planet detection more difficult than smaller stars.” becomes more difficult.
