Chapter 1
Rains of terror and heavy metal skies
Chapter 2
Melting points and precious rocks
Chapter 3
Multiple suns and cosmic dances
Chapter 4
Homeless wanderers and steam worlds
Ch 3 · Multiple suns and cosmic dances
artiteacher Kepler-16b, a real-life Tatooine, consists of gas, ice, and rock orbiting a binary system of red and orange dwarf stars.
Quiz
What term do astronomers use for a planet like Kepler-16b that orbits two stars at once?
artiteacher This triple-star system sits 151 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus
Fun Fact
Double shadows: Standing on a circumbinary planet like Kepler-16b means you would cast two distinct shadows, each pointing in a slightly different direction.
Glossary
circumbinary planet (noun)
An exoplanet that orbits a system of two stars instead of a single sun. In 2011, NASA discovered Kepler-16b, a freezing world orbiting two stars.
An exoplanet that orbits a system of two stars instead of a single sun. In 2011, NASA discovered Kepler-16b, a freezing world orbiting two stars.