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 ")
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.
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.' - EE 'Doc' Smith, 1928.
Can A Human Land A SpaceX Rocket On Its Tail?
'If she starts to roll sideways — blooey! The underjets only hold you up when they’re pointing down, you know.' - Stanley G. Weinbaum, 1936.
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
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
'Forest Lawn.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
