Four planets (at least) for two stars. The study: “The GAPS Programme at TNG. LIII. New insights on the peculiar XO-2 system” of A. Ruggieri (Università di Padova) appeared on A&A

Every sci-fi enthusiast, especially Star Wars fans, has wondered whether planets orbiting two stars, like Tatooine, can exist in reality. This is actually an important question in astronomy: It has been estimated that in the Milky Way, one-third of low-mass stars are in binary systems. Therefore, to fully understand the population of planets in our Galaxy, it is necessary to

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The magnetic activity vs. age in binary systems with a white dwarf and a main sequence star. The study: “Main-sequence companions to white dwarfs – II. The age-activity-rotation relation from a sample of Gaia common proper motion pairs” of A. Rebassa-Mansergas (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) recently appeared on MNRAS

Several stellar phenomena and evolutionary processes are connected to their magnetic fields. The mechanisms that allow stars to produce their magnetic fields depend on their internal structure and stellar properties. One dominant property is stellar rotation: the faster stars rotate, the more intense their magnetic field and magnetic activity. Since stellar rotation declines with age, it is not surprising that

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There is no relation between age and metallicity of the stars in the Solar neighbourhood. The study: “Constraining the solar neighbourhood age-metallicity relation from white dwarf-main sequence binaries” of A. Rebassa-Mansergas (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) recently appeared on MNRAS

After the Big Bang, the Universe contained only hydrogen, helium, and a very small fraction of lithium. After that, stars, mainly the most massive ones, were responsible for the chemical enrichment of the Universe. In fact, stars produce energy by synthetizing chemical elements in their cores. These elements are then redistributed in the interstellar medium when stars end their evolution.

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Planets in binary systems. The study: “The HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N@TNG VIII. Gl15A: A multiple wide planetary system sculpted by binary interaction” of M. Pinamonti (INAF-OATo) published on A&A

In our Galaxy, a large fraction of stars is part of binary systems. For instance, the study of Duquennoy & Mayor (1991) suggests a binary fraction of 57% for solar type stars. A slightly smaller binary fraction is expected for less massive stars. Among pre-Main Sequence stars, several binary systems are known to host a circumbinary disk. These disks are

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Looking for compatc objects in the Kepler supernova remnant. Published on ApJ the study: “No Surviving Companion in Kepler’s Supernova” of P. Ruiz-Lapuente (Instituto de Física Fundamental, Madrid)

di Mario Giuseppe Guarcello    ( follow mguarce)   Type Ia supernovae are particularly important in cosmology since they allow us precise measurements of the hosting galaxies. These supernovae are not triggered by the collapse of the core of massive stars, such as the “core-collapse supernovae”. They are instead due to the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf in close binary

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