Orbits of Capella Binary Stars (IMAGE)

University of California - Berkeley

Orbits of Capella Binary Stars

Caption

Until now, the binary star system Capella appeared in visible light telescopes as a single "star" larger than the red dotted circle. FIRST was able to resolve the two stars and, based on six individual observations at three different times over a 14-month time period, confirm the proposed elliptical orbit of one of these stars around its companion.

Credit

Gaspard Duchene/UC Berkeley and Franck Marchi/SETI Institute.

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