ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Transcript: Most binary stars orbit slowly with a large distance between the two stars. However, a small fraction of binary systems are in close, tight, rapid orbits. In this situation mass transfer can occur from one star to the other. The system of two co-orbiting stars is surrounded by two teardrop regions of space called Roche lobes. The cross-section of these imaginary regions of space is like the figure eight. At the point of contact between the two stars mass can flow in one direction or the other. This situation is called a contact binary.
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OTHER EPISODES IN THIS PODCAST
Transcript: Consider a binary pair where the more massive star has expanded to fill its Roche lobe, and the smaller star is a white dwarf of nearly 1.4 solar masses. As the massive star dumps hydrogen onto the white dwarf the gas is compressed, rapidly heated, and it ignites nuclear reactions that…
Transcript: Consider a binary system where a giant or a supergiant star is in orbit around a white dwarf and where a mass transfer between the lobes pushes the white dwarf over the Chandrasekhar limit. At this point the white dwarf collapses catastrophically to form either a neutron star or a blac…
Transcript: How does mass transfer occur in a close binary pair? The Roche surface or lobes define the region of space where gas is bound to one or both stars. If either star becomes a giant the outer layers swell to fill the lobe, and the teardrop shape becomes the actual surface of the star. I…
Transcript: It’s a great challenge to determine the true incidence of binary and multiple star systems. The nearest stars are well observed, but it’s a very small sample. As we go to more distant stars a faint companion might not be detectable. Spectroscopic binaries are biased towards small sep…
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Christopher D. Impey, Professor, Astronomy, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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