[extropy-chat] Most star systems are single

[Amara Graps]

Damien Sullivan

>does he actually settle whether most systems are *formed* single?

It wasn't clear to me. Lada says mostly single from the beginning, but
it depends on the mass of the molecular cloud. If it is very large, the
gas is supposedly more turbulent, and breaks up into very large single
stars (as apposed to smallish single stars). Frank Shu doesn't seem to
agree completely with Lada, though.

Here's a press release that says more
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/pr0611.html

and a New Scientist article:

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn8640

Check this out:

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Planets and life

"If most red dwarfs form without a sibling, extrasolar planetary systems
similar to our solar system may be common, says Lada. Kevin Luhman, an
astronomer at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, US,
agrees. He says planets would probably have a more difficult time
forming around a star in a binary system because the other star's
gravity would disturb them."

"He adds that red dwarfs can live as long as a trillion years - 100 times
longer than the Sun, which will heat and bloat up as a red giant in
several billion years. "Those factors together make the stars very
likely sites for the formation of planets and life," Luhman says."

"The stars' longevity may make them ideal destinations when the Sun
becomes a red giant and "makes life on Earth a living hell", says Shu.
"In that case, travelling to a habitable planet (or making one by
terraforming) around a red dwarf star could extend the lifetime of the
human race by many, many billions of years."

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Amara
-- 

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