Astronomers take a second look at twin star systems
Peer-Reviewed Publication
In honor of Global Astronomy Month, we’re exploring the science of space. Learn how astronomy connects us through curiosity, discovery, and a shared wonder for what lies beyond.
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Jul-2025 11:11 ET (29-Jul-2025 15:11 GMT/UTC)
New Haven, Conn. — Apples-to-apples comparisons in the distant universe are hard to come by.
Whether the subject is dwarf galaxies, supermassive black holes, or “hot Jupiters,” astronomers can spend months or years searching for comparable objects and formations to study. And it is rarer still when those objects are side-by-side.
But a new Yale study offers a road map for finding “twin” planetary systems — showing whether binary stars that orbit each other, and that were born at the same time and place, tend to host similar orbiting planets. The study’s authors found that certain orientations of twin star systems may provide critical information about planet formation, while also being easier for astronomers to discover planets within the systems.
Rising energy prices, geopolitical instability, and the challenges of climate change are increasingly prompting the question: Can we supply ourselves with energy that is both sustainable and reliable? In search of an answer, more and more attention is being directed towards the Earth’s deep heat. While geothermal energy is most associated with countries such as Iceland or Italy, few know Lithuania also has this clean, stable, and local energy source. In this respect, Lithuania is unique among the Baltic countries.
Researchers at Incheon National University explored how domestic public opinion influences foreign policy alignment decisions among U.S. allies during great power competition. Using a survey experiment centered on South Korea’s potential Quad membership, they found that leaders face audience costs when reversing alignment commitments, particularly from pro-U.S. constituents. The study highlights how shifting public preferences can strengthen or weaken alignment credibility in international politics.
The gigantic-oxidative atomic-layer-by-layer epitaxy (GOALL-Epitaxy) method substantially augments the oxidation power by orders of magnitude, enabling atomically precise construction of artificially designed metastable complex oxide structures.
Astronomers have developed a groundbreaking computer simulation to explore, in unprecedented detail, magnetism and turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) — the vast ocean of gas and charged particles that lies between stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Described in a new study published today in Nature Astronomy, the model is the most powerful to date, requiring the computing capability of the SuperMUC-NG supercomputer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany. It directly challenges our understanding of how magnetized turbulence operates in astrophysical environments.