Stellar System Disintigration in Orion Nebula (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Stellar System Disintigration in Orion Nebula

Caption

This three-frame illustration shows how a grouping of stars can break apart, flinging the members into space. Panel 1: members of a multiple-star system orbiting each other. Panel 2: two of the stars move closer together in their orbits. Panel 3: the closely orbiting stars eventually either merge or form a tight binary. This event releases enough gravitational energy to propel all of the stars in the system outward, as shown in the third panel.

Credit

NASA, ESA, and Z. Levy (STScI)

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