Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Quadruple-Star System Now Forming
A quadruple-star system has been discovered by the ALMA Survey of Orion Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (ALMASOP) led by Prof. LIU Tie from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO). They used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to conduct a a high-resolution investigation on 72 dense cores in the Orion Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs).
Scientists discovered that the largest separation of the four members in the system is only one thousand astronomical units. "The exceptional compactness and close-proximity of this system is a fascinating discovery. The analysis suggests that this system is very likely to form a gravitationally bound quadruple star system in the future," said Ph.D. LUO Qiuyi at SHAO and the first author of the study. Scientists also discovered several ribbon-like elongated structures in dust emission, tightly binding the four members together and extending outward.
(Via Astronomers Discover Forming Quadruple-star System: More Intimate, More Complex.)
How about an artificial quadruple star system - inside an asteroid!
“...All the comforts of home!” exclaimed Adam. The screen showed Gravite below, alive with color, flinging metal arms up to its unnatural sky. The screen, itself, was a combined televisor-telecaster, revealing everything within its wide range of reception.
Directly ahead of them rock glared with dull resentment under the light of the quadruple artificial suns. The huge hole extending back into it was abysmally black. Adam jockeyed the ship easily into the opening, dropped it to the flooring. They heard the clamp of electromagnetic grapples against the hull, then were hurtling along at tremendous speed.
Golden Age science fiction writer Stanton A. Coblentz described quadruple-star systems very poetically in his story Beyond the Universe, published in Amazing Stories in December of 1934:
Extant models suggest that multiple star system forms via fragmentation of a cloud core in its early evolution. To explore the origin of multiple star systems, the ALMASOP team conducted a high-resolution investigation on 72 young and cold cores in the Orion GMCs. Scientists observed the thermal emission of dust at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. They discovered a quadruple protostellar system in G206.93-16.61E2, a dense cold core located at 1,500 light-years from Earth within the Orion B GMC. The system consists four members: two protostars, and two prestellar gas condensations that may also form low-mass stars in future.
And then, abruptly, there it was before him — black, pitted, the blinding glare of the sun struggling with the alternate space-dark shadows in the harsh glare of its surface, one hundred twenty miles of barren rock, its sullen bulk an unclean stain against the clear, calm coolness of the far-off stars. Gravite! A city in an asteroid!
Fascinated, I found myself in the midst of blazing star-clusters, whose myriad suns stared out at me like the jewels of some radiant tiara; with an incommunicable ecstasy, I peered into the abysses of vast gaseous nebulae, all cloudy-shaped and mysteriously glowing; ravished with joy, I gazed at the giant suns, Arcturus and Betelguese, and the red Antares, and at systems of double and triple and quadruple suns with their streams of planets strewn about them through the black void.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/1/2023)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.' - John W. Campbell, 1950.
FLOAT Levitating Train On The Moon ala Clarke
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1955.
SpaceX Intros Extravehicular Activity Suit
'Provision had been made to meet the terrific cold which we knew would be encountered the moment we had passed beyond the atmosphere.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.' - L. Ron Hubbard, 1948.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development?
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years
'...power pack the size of a pea.'
Live Stream With Meta-Ban Multimodal Smart Glasses
'...the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses.'
