Second Saturday Science Talk – Is AI coming for your binaries?
February’s Science Topic – Binary Stars and Artificial Intelligence
14 Feb 2026 18:00 – 20:00
binary star
Why Are Tatooine Planets Rare? General Relativity Explains Why Binary Star Systems Rarely Host Planets
Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around single stars, but few around binary stars—even though both types of stars are equally common. Physicists can now explain the dearth.
Astronomers Discover One of the Most Massive Binary Stars in the Galaxy
Using archival Hubble Space Telescope data and new observations, astronomers have precisely measured the binary star system NGC3603-A1 in the starburst region NGC 3603, located 22,000 light years from the Sun. This system consists of two massive stars weighing approximately 93 and 70 times the mass of the Sun, orbiting each other every 3.8 days, making it one of the most massive and fastest-orbiting binary systems discovered in our galaxy.
The Search Is On for Betel-Buddy
Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star located about 640 light years from Earth in the constellation Orion, is known for its unpredictable brightness and is nearing the end of its life, expected to explode as a supernova. A significant dimming event in late 2019 led to speculation about its imminent explosion, but it was later attributed to a dust cloud. Research suggests that Betelgeuse may have a low-mass companion star orbiting it every 2,100 days, which could explain its long-term brightness variations.