Binary stars as a research area encompass the observational, theoretical, and computational study of gravitationally bound stellar pairs, focusing on their formation, orbital dynamics, mass transfer, and evolutionary pathways. This field investigates how binarity affects stellar structure, nucleosynthesis, angular momentum evolution, and endpoints such as white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole binaries. It also includes characterization of spectroscopic, eclipsing, and astrometric binaries, derivation of fundamental stellar parameters from orbital solutions, and modeling of interaction phenomena such as accretion, common-envelope evolution, and mergers, which are crucial for understanding supernova progenitors, gravitational-wave sources, and the statistical properties of stellar populations.
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.
Astronomy
Jan 30, 2026
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Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), in collaboration with the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), ...
Astronomy
Jan 28, 2026
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Using various space telescopes and ground-based facilities, astronomers have performed X-ray and radio observations of an accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar known as MAXI J1957+032. Results of the observational campaign, ...
Some stars appear to defy time itself. Nestled within ancient star clusters, they shine bluer and brighter than their neighbors, looking far younger than their true age. Known as blue straggler stars, these stellar oddities ...
Astronomy
Jan 22, 2026
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An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has uncovered the first decisive evidence that at least some fast radio burst (FRB) sources—brief ...
Astronomy
Jan 16, 2026
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Astronomers report the discovery of a new binary system, designated LAMOST J065816.72+094343.1. The newfound binary consists of a massive and hot subdwarf and an unseen companion. The finding was detailed in the January issue ...
Using new observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, astronomers have tracked the influence of a recently discovered companion star, Siwarha, on the gas around Betelgeuse. The research, ...
Astronomy
Jan 5, 2026
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In a discovery that's fit for a movie, Northwestern University astronomers have directly imaged a Tatooine-like exoplanet, orbiting two suns. While obtaining an image of a planet beyond our solar system is already rare, finding ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2025
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Using NASA's Kepler space telescope, Chinese astronomers have observed a binary star system known as KIC 5623923. As a result, they found that the investigated system is a faint eclipsing binary experiencing Delta Scuti-type ...
Astronomers from Keele University in the UK have utilized NASA's planet-hunting TESS telescope to investigate a totally-eclipsing binary known as UZ Draconis. Results of the new observations, published October 31 on the arXiv ...
