Analysis of Eight Double Star Systems
credit: Stanford OHSAbstract
Our Stanford Online High School class measured eight double stars and assessed the probability of a gravitational relationship for each system. All targets for this study are pairs whose stars have similar brightness and a separation between 5 and 20”. The measurements were performed using between eight and ten images per system provided by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network’s 0.4 m robotic telescopes in early 2021. The measurements made were then compared with historical data for each of the system and data from the Gaia mission’s third data release. While seven of the eight systems measured exhibited common proper motion, the data suggests that only one system (STT 547AB, which has a solved orbit) is definitely a binary system. However, this conclusion does not necessarily rule out the possibility of a physical relationship between stars of some of the other examined pairs.
