Professional and amateur astronomers used artificial intelligence to discover a unique stellar trio named TIC 290061484, with help from NASA’s TESS satellite capturing cosmic “strobe lights”. This system comprises twin stars orbiting each other every 1.8 days, and a third star orbiting the pair in just 25 days, breaking the record for the shortest outer orbital period for this type of system established in 1956. Scientists were able to measure the orbits, masses, sizes, and temperatures of the stars due to the compact, edge-on configuration of the system and studied how it formed and might evolve in the future.
The stars in the system are located in the Cygnus constellation and are almost flat from Earth’s perspective, allowing for eclipses where the stars cross in front of each other and block each other’s light. Using machine learning, scientists sifted through vast amounts of starlight data from TESS to identify dimming patterns indicating eclipses, with citizen scientists from the Planet Hunters project filtering further to pinpoint interesting cases. The Visual Survey Group, a collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers, worked together to discover the tight trio and other unique systems, emphasizing the potential prevalence of such systems in the galaxy.
Researchers anticipate the stability of the newfound system due to the stars orbiting in nearly the same plane, making it likely that the system will remain stable despite its tight configuration. While the orbit will persist for millions of years, it is unlikely for planets to form closely around any of the stars, except for a possible distant planet orbiting the three stars together. The aging of the inner stars will lead to expansion and eventual merger, triggering a supernova explosion in approximately 20 to 40 million years. Scientists are now on the lookout for triple stars with even shorter orbits, a challenging task that will be aided by NASA’s Roman Space Telescope.
The upcoming Roman Space Telescope will provide more detailed images than TESS, capturing over 36,000 pixels compared to a single TESS pixel and allowing for a deeper exploration into the heart of the galaxy where stars congregate. By monitoring hundreds of millions of stars, the telescope will help in discovering more triple star systems where all stars eclipse each other. Roman is expected to reveal new categories of systems and objects that surprise astronomers, potentially uncovering eclipsing stars bound in larger groups or unveiling unprecedented observations in the galaxy.
The enhanced resolution of images from the Roman Space Telescope will enable astronomers to gain a better understanding of star systems and their behavior in the Milky Way. Scientists are hopeful that the new tool will aid in the discovery of more triple star systems with shorter outer orbital periods, shedding light on the limits and variations present in such configurations. The telescope’s ability to observe stars that usually blend together will provide a comprehensive look at the nature of star systems in the galaxy, potentially revealing systems and objects beyond researchers’ current expectations.