What would be the consequences if Earth had not one but two suns?

Star Wars’ planet with two stars tatooineHow many of you remember? This planet, which has adorned our dreams for years, makes us ask some questions. Even though we love our Sun, what would it be like if there were two stars in the Solar System that the Earth is in?

It’s a beautiful thing to imagine an Earth orbiting two stars. Especially those magnificent sunsets would be very beautiful. So is such a thing really possible? Could Earth continue to harbor life by revolving around two stars? Today we will try to give you the answer to this question.

Is it possible to have two Suns side by side instead of one?

Although there is a perception that star systems consist of a single star, we actually see that many stars in the universe take place with a friend. Binary or more star systems are extremely common. Even the closest star system to us Alpha Centauri’There are three stars in total. In other words, it is a common situation that stars can be side by side, as we can see from every corner of the universe.

So, can Earth exist in a two-star system?

We come to the main question of our content. If our sun had a brother by his side There could still be life on Earth, but for this it is necessary to clarify some conditions. First of all, there is something we must accept. There is much more chaos in systems with two or more stars than in our Solar System. Still, even in such a situation, life on Earth might be possible. Of course, there are many factors for this, such as the brightness, size and distance of the stars.

What would it take for an Earth that bids farewell to both its stars every evening?

In order for our Earth to continue to host life in the binary star system, it is necessary to pay attention to some important points. First of all, in this scenario both stars should have half the brightness of our current Sun.

However, the fact that these two stars are very close to each other is another important point. The distance between these two stars less than 15 million kilometers All planets in the Solar System (even Mercury) can potentially orbit stably.

We used to experience 6 hour eclipses every 5 days.

Let’s say the distance between two stars is 5 million kilometers. When viewed from the outside at this distance It would take 10 days for two stars to orbit around them. In other words, the stars would pass in front of each other every 5 days. The resulting eclipses would last for about 6 hours, and we would feel a bit cold as we couldn’t take the heat of one of our stars in the process. However, this cold did not reach very serious dimensions.

We could easily exist in such a system.

As we can see, in the scenario where two stars with half the Sun’s luminosity are in close and stable orbits. We can continue to live on Earth. It’s okay for us to exist. The real problem here starts in the first phase, when the planets are just forming. At that initial stage, we see that things get a little confusing.

Binary star systems can have some difficulty creating rocky planets.

relatively small like the world, to form a rocky planet A two-star system doesn’t seem like a good fit. According to research, planets formed in such systems are gas giants that are much larger than our planet.

So far, we have not seen a planet like ours in such systems in suitable environments. But that doesn’t mean we can’t see it. Although we have yet to come across a planet like ours in such a system, in the future We can discover such planets.

Today you “Would Earth still be conducive to life if it were in a two-star system instead of a single star?We tried to answer the question “. If you want to continue this kind of content, you can write to us in the comments.