Observations contradict earlier theory of how a binary star formed
Researchers have used multi-telescope observations to determine that a specific binary star system likely formed from separate entities rather than a single disk. This finding contradicts their previous 2019 study and provides new insights into the complex formation of massive star systems.
Why it matters
Understanding how binary star systems form is fundamental to astrophysics, as the majority of massive stars exist in multiple-star systems.
By Julia Rock-Torcivia | September 9, 2026
A team of researchers spent almost eight years collecting observations of a binary star system to build a three-dimensional model which supports the theory that the two stars formed separately and came together later, rather than forming from the same disk, as the researchers’ 2019 paper suggested.
The inset circle shows an image of the binary star system with the orbital trajectories reconstructed from ALMA observations. The arrows indicate the direction of the stars’ jets. The red- and blue-shifted hydrogen recombination line emission show the rotation of the ionized circumstellar disks around the two forming stars. The background image is a mid-infrared image of the region from JWST. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. DePasquale (STScI), ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Y. Zhang
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