Protostars in IRAS 07299-1651 formed binary 60 years ago
Astronomers have caught a rare cosmic event: two huge baby stars, or protostars, coming together to form a binary system only 60 years ago.
Using powerful telescopes like ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope, they studied IRAS 07299-1651, about 5,300 light-years from Earth, to get a close look at how these stars are growing up.
Protostellar disks misaligned: orbits defy theories
Usually, binary stars are born from the same gas cloud. But these two seem to have formed separately and then teamed up later, a pretty unusual move!
Their disks aren't lined up either, which adds to the mystery.
Mapping their orbits over eight years revealed some wild paths that don't fit old theories.
Scientists say this could provide scientists with a powerful new way of investigating other young massive binary systems and could reveal how common encounters like this are and if more binary systems are composed of stars brought together by chance encounters.