binary star

noun

Definition of binary star

: a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitation

Examples of binary star in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The binary star system, 808 parsecs (2,600 light years) away from Earth in the constellation Lyra, was previously classified as a possible exoplanet system. — Elizabeth Gibney, Scientific American, "White Dwarf Acts as Cosmic Magnifying Glass," 20 Apr. 2014 Such collisions are reasonably common in binary star systems. — The Economist, "Astronomy Colliding stars," 21 Nov. 2020 De Mink, who models the evolution of black-hole pairs from binary star systems, says that accounting for the interlopers will be challenging. — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, "The universe teems with weird black holes, gravitational-wave hunters find," 28 Oct. 2020 Chatzopoulos' team has proposed that Betelgeuse was once part of a binary star system. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "Betelgeuse Might've Dabbled in Some Casual Celestial Cannibalism," 21 July 2020 If the binary stars orbited closely enough, one star's carbon could transfer to the other. — Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, "Superfast "Cannonball" Star Likely Blasted from Supernova," 26 Jan. 2016 But four months of observations revealed the star system might not be an ordinary binary star system. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "This Is the Closest Black Hole We've Ever Discovered," 7 May 2020 As Heger’s binary stars orbited their central point of gravity, the spectral features in each star’s atmosphere also shifted in wavelength (the Doppler effect). — Ryan C. Fortenberry, Scientific American, "The First Molecule in the Universe," 1 Feb. 2020 But prose and poetry, although often portrayed as binary stars exerting equal force, are in fact more like a vast planet and its tiny, clinging moon. — David Orr, New York Times, "A Poet Traces Her Personal Obsessions, in Prose," 14 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'binary star.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near binary star

binary notation

binary opposition

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Last Updated

1 Mar 2021

Cite this Entry

“Binary star.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/binary%20star. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

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