WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Bedtime Astronomy. Explore the wonders of the cosmos

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<v Speaker 1>with our soothing Bedtime Astronomie podcast. Each episode offers a

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<v Speaker 1>gentle journey through the stars, planets, and beyond, perfect for

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<v Speaker 1>unwinding after a long day. Let's travel through the mysteries

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<v Speaker 1>of the universe as you drift off into a peaceful

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<v Speaker 1>slumber under the night sky.

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<v Speaker 2>I want you to visualize the Solar System right now, specifically,

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<v Speaker 2>picture the orbit of Jupiter. It is this massive, sweeping

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<v Speaker 2>boundary far out from our Sun, hundreds of millions of

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<v Speaker 2>miles into the freezing dark. Now, instead of the cold,

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<v Speaker 2>empty vacuum of space with just a few scattered gas

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<v Speaker 2>giants and asteroids floating around, I want you to imagine

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<v Speaker 2>cramming four and tire blazing stars into that exact same boundary.

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<v Speaker 3>It sounds like a thought experiment designed to deliberately break

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<v Speaker 3>the laws of physics, or you know, maybe the climax

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<v Speaker 3>of a really intense science fiction. But this is the

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<v Speaker 3>reality of a newly observed highly compact quadruple star system

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<v Speaker 3>known as TAFE one two zero three six two one

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<v Speaker 3>three seven. It is not a hypothetical scenario at all.

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<v Speaker 3>It is a meticulously documented cosmic structure.

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<v Speaker 2>The sheer scale and density of this system are staggering.

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<v Speaker 2>We're talking about the most compact quadruple star system ever

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<v Speaker 2>observed to date. And we aren't just bringing this up

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<v Speaker 2>because it's a neat piece of cosmic trivia. Understanding this

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<v Speaker 2>tightly packed, chaotic system actually sheds light on some of

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<v Speaker 2>the biggest questions in astrophysics, things like star formation, the

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<v Speaker 2>intricate gravitational dynamics of the universe, and how these exotic

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<v Speaker 2>stellar objects evolve over billions of years.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and it really changes your perspective.

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<v Speaker 2>It does. Whenever you look up at the night sky,

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<v Speaker 2>you see what looks like a serene, quiet blanket of single,

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<v Speaker 2>isolated points of light. But the reality is that when

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<v Speaker 2>you were staring at one of those tiny dots, you

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<v Speaker 2>might actually be looking at an incredibly complex multi star

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<v Speaker 2>dance playing out millions of light years away.

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<v Speaker 3>What is genuinely fascinating here is how a system like

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<v Speaker 3>tick one two zero three six two one three seven

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<v Speaker 3>completely subverts our everyday intuition about how planetary instellar systems operate.

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<v Speaker 3>You and I and everyone listening are inherently biased by

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<v Speaker 3>our own solar model.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh. Absolutely, we have one dominant central star.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, we have tiny rocky planets closed in gaseous bodies

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<v Speaker 3>further out, all sitting in orderly, widely spaced, predictable orbits.

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<v Speaker 2>It feels safe, predictable being the keyword there.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, But the universe is incredibly diverse, and in many ways,

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<v Speaker 3>our isolated, quiet little sun might be the exception rather

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<v Speaker 3>than the rule. When we look at this new quadruple system,

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<v Speaker 3>we have to entirely recalibrate our understanding of celestial architecture

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<v Speaker 3>to really grasp what is happening here. We have to

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<v Speaker 3>look at the specific hierarchy of this system.

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<v Speaker 2>Because not all multistar systems are built the same way,

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<v Speaker 2>are they not? At all? The architecture of this particular

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<v Speaker 2>cosmic dance is what astronomers classify as a three plus

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<v Speaker 2>one type quadruple star system. To make that a bit

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<v Speaker 2>more concrete, imagine a grand ballroom. Okay, if we are

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<v Speaker 2>talking about quadruple systems, a lot of the ones we

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<v Speaker 2>know about are what you would call it two plus

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<v Speaker 2>two type systems.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, the binary pairs exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>That's like having two separate couples dancing the walls on

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<v Speaker 2>completely opposite sides of the ballroom. They are aware of

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<v Speaker 2>each other. They are slowly revolving around the very center

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<v Speaker 2>of the room, but they have plenty of space.

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<v Speaker 3>They aren't stepping on ea, shoulders toes.

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<v Speaker 2>That is a two plus two this system, However, the

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<v Speaker 2>three plus one is entirely different. Imagine a tight trio

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<v Speaker 2>of dancers in the very center of the floor, locked

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<v Speaker 2>together in an incredibly fast, intricate salsa, while a single

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<v Speaker 2>soloist dances a slow, wide circle all the way around them.

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<v Speaker 3>It paints a chaotic picture, it does.

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<v Speaker 2>Both setups are hierarchical systems, meaning they have layers of

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<v Speaker 2>orbits nested within each other. But the three plus one

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<v Speaker 2>feels like it should be absolute chaos.

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<v Speaker 3>It absolutely does, and from a gravitational standpoint, it is

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<v Speaker 3>a remarkably rare beat. Yeah, to put it into perspective,

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<v Speaker 3>smaller two star systems binary systems are the overwhelming norm

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<v Speaker 3>when it comes to multiple star systems in our universe.

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<v Speaker 2>They are everywhere.

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<v Speaker 3>They really are. Two masses orbiting a common center of

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<v Speaker 3>gravity is a highly stable configuration. When you move up

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<v Speaker 3>to four stars, that two plus two configuration you mention

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<v Speaker 3>is much more common precisely because it allows for wider,

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<v Speaker 3>more stable gravitational separations. The math works out neatly.

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<v Speaker 2>So the three plus one is the outlier, a huge outlier.

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<v Speaker 3>Before the discovery of t TIK one two zero, three six,

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<v Speaker 3>two one three seven, only two other three plus one

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<v Speaker 3>type systems had ever been observed by astronomers.

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<v Speaker 2>Wait, only two in the entire history of astronomy.

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<v Speaker 3>Only two definitively confirmed three plus one architectures. Yes, that

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<v Speaker 3>is wild, And here is the crucial distinction. Regarding those

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<v Speaker 3>previous two. Both of them were far far less compact

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<v Speaker 3>than this new one. They were spread out over much

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<v Speaker 3>larger cosmic distances, giving the gravitational forces room to breathe,

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<v Speaker 3>so to speak.

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<v Speaker 2>So t QUEK one two zero, three six two one

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<v Speaker 2>three seven has essentially taken this already exceedingly rare architectural

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<v Speaker 2>setup and compressed it into a space that completely boggles

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<v Speaker 2>the mind.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, it is unprecedented.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's map out those distances and sizes for everyone listening.

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<v Speaker 2>This is where the visualization gets truly wild.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's do it.

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<v Speaker 2>As we said at the start, the entire four stars

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<v Speaker 2>set up, all four massive burning bodies, fits entirely inside

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<v Speaker 2>the distance from our Sun to Jupiter. That is roughly

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<v Speaker 2>four hundred and eighty million miles.

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<v Speaker 3>Which sounds like a lot to a human driving.

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<v Speaker 2>A car, right, But for four stars that is basically

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<v Speaker 2>sharing a sleeping bag. But it gets even crazier than that.

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<v Speaker 2>That inner trio, the three stars doing the rapid salts

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<v Speaker 2>dance in the center. That entire inner subsystem sits entirely

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<v Speaker 2>within an area the size of Mercury's orbit.

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<v Speaker 3>It's almost hard to comprehend.

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<v Speaker 2>Hold on Mercury is basically scraping the paint off our Sun.

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<v Speaker 2>It is only about thirty six million miles away from

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<v Speaker 2>the solar surface. You're telling me three massive stars fit

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<v Speaker 2>in that exact same gap. How are they not ripping

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<v Speaker 2>each other to shreds with great It is.

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<v Speaker 3>A profound balancing act of orbital mechanics. And to understand

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<v Speaker 3>how they survive you have to look at the physical

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<v Speaker 3>properties of those three inner stars. They aren't just tiny

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<v Speaker 3>red dwarfs, which are the most common smallest stars in

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<v Speaker 3>the galaxy. These three inner stars are massive, and they

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<v Speaker 3>run significantly hotter than our own Sun, though they do

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<v Speaker 3>vary in their specific heat and mass. The undisputed heavyweight

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<v Speaker 3>of this entire group is the primary star of the

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<v Speaker 3>innermost binary pair. Astronomers designate this specific star as Star A.

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<v Speaker 2>Sorry, got it.

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<v Speaker 3>It anchors the entire frenetic inner core of the system

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<v Speaker 3>with its immense gravity and its intense thermal output. It

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<v Speaker 3>is the gravitational linchpin keeping the inner trio from flying

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<v Speaker 3>apart or instantly collapsing inward.

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<v Speaker 2>So you have this terrifying, blazing heavyweight Star A locked

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<v Speaker 2>in a tight embrace with a second star, and then

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<v Speaker 2>a third star buzzing around that central pair like an

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<v Speaker 2>angry hornet, exactly all within the space of Mercury's orbit.

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<v Speaker 2>And then you have the fourth star, the soloest out

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<v Speaker 2>on the edge. Tell me about that one, because from

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<v Speaker 2>what I understand, it is drastically different from the inner three.

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<v Speaker 3>It is the outer star is much smaller than the

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<v Speaker 3>chaotic trio at orbits. In fact, it is quite a

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<v Speaker 3>bit like looking in a mirror for us, because that

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<v Speaker 3>fourth star mirrors our own Sun very closely in both

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<v Speaker 3>its physical size and its surface temperature.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it is a G type main sequence star just

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<v Speaker 3>like ours.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like having a replica of our Sun, just casually

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<v Speaker 2>strolling around the outside of a triple star bondfire.

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<v Speaker 3>Exactly, and the contrast in their physical makeup is perfectly

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<v Speaker 3>reflected in the rhythms of their orbits. The gravitational forces

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<v Speaker 3>at play inside Mercury's orbital distance are intense.

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<v Speaker 2>Because they're so close together.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, because they are so close together, and because their

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<v Speaker 3>masses are so significant, those inner stars have to move

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<v Speaker 3>incredibly fast to maintain their orbits and avoid falling into

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<v Speaker 3>one another.

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<v Speaker 2>It is basic orbital mechanics, right. The closer you are

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<v Speaker 2>to a massive body, the faster you must travel to

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<v Speaker 2>maintain centrifugal balance against the pull of gravity held it.

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<v Speaker 3>Their orbital periods, meaning the time it takes for them

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<v Speaker 3>to complete a single revolution around their shared center of mass,

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<v Speaker 3>range from just a few days for the innermost pair

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<v Speaker 3>to fifty one days for the third star circling them.

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<v Speaker 2>A fifty one day year, you would have to celebrate

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<v Speaker 2>your birthday every other month while trying not to be

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<v Speaker 2>incinerated by three suns. It would be absolute visual.

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<v Speaker 3>Chaos, visual and gravitational chaos.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. And meanwhile, that outer sun like star takes a

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<v Speaker 3>much more leisurely pace because it sits further out, near

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<v Speaker 3>that Jupiter boundary we discussed, it experiences a much weaker

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<v Speaker 3>gravitational pull from the inner trio. Therefore, it completes its

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<v Speaker 3>orbit around the inner core every one thousand and forty

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<v Speaker 3>six days.

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<v Speaker 2>So you have this frantic, high speed, high heat blender

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<v Speaker 2>of gravity in the center, surrounded by a slow, relatively cold,

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<v Speaker 2>three year long patrol on the outside. That sums it

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<v Speaker 2>up perfectly, which naturally makes me wonder, if a system

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<v Speaker 2>like this is so massive, so dynamic, and burning so

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<v Speaker 2>incredibly bright, why haven't we seen more of them? You

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<v Speaker 2>said there are only two others ever found. Are they

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<v Speaker 2>just that rare or are we just bad at looking

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<v Speaker 2>for them?

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<v Speaker 3>The astronomers studying this system have made a very crucial

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<v Speaker 3>point regarding this exact question. It is highly likely that

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<v Speaker 3>there are actually many other compact three plus one quadruple

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<v Speaker 3>systems out there in the galaxy. Really, yes, the universe

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<v Speaker 3>is incredibly vast, containing hundreds of billions of stars in

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<v Speaker 3>the Milky Way alone, but finding them is fundamentally difficult.

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<v Speaker 3>It isn't just a matter of building a bigger telescope

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<v Speaker 3>and pointing it at the right patch of sky.

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<v Speaker 2>If they just look like one dot.

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<v Speaker 3>Right. Their discovery relies on highly occasional and what the

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<v Speaker 3>researchers call fortuitous properties.

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<v Speaker 2>For tuitous properties, meaning we have to get incredibly lucky.

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<v Speaker 2>It's essentially looking for a needle in a photometric haystack.

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<v Speaker 3>Right. That is a great way to put it, because

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<v Speaker 3>when you look.

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<v Speaker 2>Through a telescope, you don't just see four distinct, beautiful

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<v Speaker 2>little dots circling each other. You just see a blur.

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<v Speaker 2>So how did they actually catch he tips one two

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<v Speaker 2>zero three six two one three seven what was the

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<v Speaker 2>lucky break?

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<v Speaker 3>The lucky break was a combination of the system's sheer

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<v Speaker 3>brightness and a very specific geometric alignment relative to Earth. Okay,

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<v Speaker 3>The details of this discovery were recently published by Timas

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<v Speaker 3>Borkovitz and his colleagues in Nature Communications. Because the system

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<v Speaker 3>is unusually bright, it allowed astronomers to use a powerful

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<v Speaker 3>combination of both photometric and spectroscopic observations.

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<v Speaker 2>But they had to know where to look first.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, to even know they needed to look at it,

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<v Speaker 3>they had to catch it in transit.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, unpack that for me. Transit we were talking about

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<v Speaker 2>shadows essentially.

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<v Speaker 3>Essentially, Yes, this is where photometry comes in. Photometry is

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<v Speaker 3>the measurement of light intensity over time. We cannot physically

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<v Speaker 3>resolve the individual stars visually, they are too far away.

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<v Speaker 3>They blurt into a single point of light. But if

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<v Speaker 3>the orbital plane of those stars is aligned almost perfectly

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<v Speaker 3>edge on with our line of sight from Earth, the

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<v Speaker 3>stars will pass in front of one another.

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<v Speaker 2>From our perspective. Okay, I see where this is going.

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<v Speaker 3>When a star passes in front of another, it blocks

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<v Speaker 3>a tiny fraction of the light. We see this as

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<v Speaker 3>a microscopic dip in the overall brightness of that single

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<v Speaker 3>point of light. That is a transit.

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<v Speaker 2>So a light curve is basically like watching a car's

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<v Speaker 2>headlights from a mile away and trying to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>if a moth or a bird just flew in front

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<v Speaker 2>of the bulb based entirely on a fraction of a

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<v Speaker 2>percent drop in the brightness.

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<v Speaker 3>That is a phenomenal analogy. Yes, yeah, you are looking

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<v Speaker 3>for a fraction of a percent of a dip in

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<v Speaker 3>brightness and you are plotting those dips on a graph

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<v Speaker 3>over time. That graph is a light curve.

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<v Speaker 2>That sounds incredibly tedious.

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<v Speaker 3>It is and ground based observation alone wasn't enough to

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<v Speaker 3>untangle a system this complex. They had to rely on

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<v Speaker 3>initial data from space, specifically the transiting exoplanet serve on

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<v Speaker 3>a satellite or tests.

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<v Speaker 2>I've heard of tests, it's the planet hunter. What does

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<v Speaker 2>tests actually do? Just take really big pictures of the sky.

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<v Speaker 3>Not pictures in the way we think of them. Tests

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<v Speaker 3>is designed to stare at massive swaths of the sky

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<v Speaker 3>for we at a time and do exactly what we

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<v Speaker 3>just described. Watch for those tiny blips in light. Oh wow,

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<v Speaker 3>it is incredibly sensitive. During what is known as Sector

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<v Speaker 3>fifty four observations, which took place between July twenty two

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<v Speaker 3>and August four, twenty twenty two, test captured the crucial

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<v Speaker 3>light curves of the.

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<v Speaker 2>System two weeks of just staring.

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<v Speaker 3>For basically two straight weeks, this satellite was staring unblinking

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<v Speaker 3>at this point of light, recording the intricate overlapping shadows

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<v Speaker 3>these stars were casting on each other as they frantically orbited.

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<v Speaker 2>But wait, if they only watched it for two weeks

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<v Speaker 2>July twenty two to August four, how did they know

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<v Speaker 2>about the fourth star you just said? The outer start

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<v Speaker 2>takes one thousand, forty six days to complete an orbit,

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<v Speaker 2>It wouldn't even have made a dent in a two

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<v Speaker 2>week observation window.

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<v Speaker 3>That is exactly why this discovery is such a triumph

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<v Speaker 3>of observational astronomy. The test data was just the first

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<v Speaker 3>thread they pulled to a satellite. It initially just looks

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<v Speaker 3>like a single point of light that is flickering in

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<v Speaker 3>a very strange, seemingly chaotic pattern. The short two week

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<v Speaker 3>window captured the frantic, fifty one day and multi day

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<v Speaker 3>orbits of the inner trio, but not the big one.

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<v Speaker 2>Right.

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<v Speaker 3>To find the fourth star and to confirm the exact

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<v Speaker 3>nature of the inner three, the scientists had to combine

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<v Speaker 3>the test photometry with archival data and high resolution ground

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<v Speaker 3>based spectroscopy.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, photometry is the moth in front of the headlight.

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<v Speaker 2>What is spectroscopy.

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<v Speaker 3>Steptroscopy involves taking the light from that single blurry point

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<v Speaker 3>and feeding it into a highly advanced prism, splitting it

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<v Speaker 3>into its component colors or a spectrum like a rainbow.

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<v Speaker 3>Exactly every element in the universe absorbs light at very specific,

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<v Speaker 3>unique wavelengths. By looking at the spectrum of a star,

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<v Speaker 3>you see these dark bands called absorption lines, which act

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<v Speaker 3>like a chemical.

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<v Speaker 2>Bar code a bar code.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, But here's the magic trick. Because these stores are

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<v Speaker 3>moving around each other, they are moving toward and away

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<v Speaker 3>from Earth.

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<v Speaker 2>The Doppler effect like a police siren changing pitch as

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<v Speaker 2>it drives past you.

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<v Speaker 3>Precisely, as a star moves toward us in its orbit,

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<v Speaker 3>its light waves are compressed, shifting its barcodes slightly toward

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<v Speaker 3>the blue end of the spectrum.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh when it moves away.

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<v Speaker 3>As it swings around and moves away from us, the

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<v Speaker 3>light waves stretch, shifting the barcode toward the red end.

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<v Speaker 3>By meticulously tracking how these chemical barcodes split and shifted

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<v Speaker 3>back and forth over time, the astronomers could measure the

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<v Speaker 3>exact radial velocities of the stars.

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<v Speaker 2>They could see the gravitational tug of war encoded in

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<v Speaker 2>the light itself. They could that is staggering, so they

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<v Speaker 2>aren't just looking at a shadow. They are looking at

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<v Speaker 2>the color of the light, stretching and squishing, and using

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<v Speaker 2>that to calculate the mass and speed of bodies they

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<v Speaker 2>can't even see exactly.

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<v Speaker 3>By combining the minute variations in the photometric light curves

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<v Speaker 3>with the shifting bar codes of the spectroscopic data, they

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<v Speaker 3>were able to mathematically untangle the overlapping signals.

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<v Speaker 2>That's brilliant.

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<v Speaker 3>They could discern four completely separate, distinct gravitational signatures, and

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<v Speaker 3>they could directly measure their individual temperatures, their specific physical sizes,

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<v Speaker 3>and their masses.

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<v Speaker 2>This marks a massive milestone in the field. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>untangling four distinct signals from one dot of light.

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<v Speaker 3>It is a landmark achievement. This marks the very first

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<v Speaker 3>time a three plus one type quadruple star system has

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<v Speaker 3>achieved direct spectroscopic detection of all four of its constituent.

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<v Speaker 2>Stars the very first time.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, they didn't just infer the presence of a fourth

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<v Speaker 3>star based on a slight gravitational wabble. They chemically and

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<v Speaker 3>visually confirmed the unique light signature of every single one

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<v Speaker 3>of them.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow.

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<v Speaker 3>They tracked the slow three year red and blue shift

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<v Speaker 3>of the outer star alongside the frantic daily shifts of

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<v Speaker 3>the inner three.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so you've got these four massive bodies packed together.

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<v Speaker 2>They've measured them, they've confirmed them. My immediate thought is

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<v Speaker 2>how do they even get there?

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<v Speaker 3>That's the million dollar question.

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<v Speaker 2>Did they just randomly capture each other while flying through

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<v Speaker 2>the galaxy or is there a specific origin story? Because

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<v Speaker 2>getting three stars inside Mercury's orbit feels like trying to

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<v Speaker 2>parallel park a semi truck in a compact space.

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<v Speaker 3>To answer that, had to look at the geometry of

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<v Speaker 3>the system, and they found a massive clue hidden in

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<v Speaker 3>the way these stars align geometry. Yes, the entire quadruple system,

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<v Speaker 3>all four stars, sits on a relatively flat inclination flat.

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<v Speaker 3>If you were to draw line through their respective orbital planes,

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<v Speaker 3>they mostly exist on the same two dimensional plane. It

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<v Speaker 3>is like a cosmic dinner plate.

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<v Speaker 2>And why is that a clue? Doesn't everything in space

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<v Speaker 2>just sort of orbit in circles anyway?

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<v Speaker 3>Not at all? Space is three dimensional. If you had

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<v Speaker 3>a scenario where a binary star system was flying through

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<v Speaker 3>space and just happened to gravitationally capture two other passing

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<v Speaker 3>stars over millions of years, their orbits would be completely wild.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh I see, They would be coming in at all

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<v Speaker 3>sorts of random tilted angles, like a chaotic swarm of bees,

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<v Speaker 3>or they wouldn't line up neatly exactly. The fact that

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<v Speaker 3>they are flat is incredibly significant. In astrophysics, this kind

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<v Speaker 3>of geometric alignment is considered primordial.

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<v Speaker 2>Primordial, meaning it's a leftover artifact from the very beginning.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, the flatness is a residual physical fingerprint from the

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<v Speaker 3>very process that formed the entire system from the ground up.

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<v Speaker 3>It tells us definitively that this system did not form

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<v Speaker 3>by random chance. Captures. All four of these stars were

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<v Speaker 3>borne simultaneously from the exact same, originally flat disk of

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<v Speaker 3>gas and dust.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so take me back to the beginning. What does

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<v Speaker 2>that birth actually look like? Are we talking about a

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<v Speaker 2>stellar nursery, one of those giant glowing clouds you see

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<v Speaker 2>in Hubble images exactly that.

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00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:35.559
<v Speaker 3>Imagine a massive, sprawling molecular cloud mostly hydrogen and helium

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<v Speaker 3>gas mixed with cosmic dust, sitting in the deep frieze

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<v Speaker 3>of interstellar space.

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<v Speaker 2>Got it.

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<v Speaker 3>Something triggers a collapse in a pocket of this cloud,

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<v Speaker 3>maybe a shockwave from a distant supernova. As the gas

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<v Speaker 3>begins to collapse inward under its own gravity, it starts to.

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<v Speaker 2>Spin just naturally, starts spinning, Yes, and.

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<v Speaker 3>As it spins faster conservation of angular momentum forces it

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<v Speaker 3>to flatten out into a disk, much like a ball

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<v Speaker 3>of pizza dough flattening out as a chef spins it

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<v Speaker 3>in the air.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so you have this giant spinning pizza dough made

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<v Speaker 2>of hydrogen. How do you get four distinct stars out

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<v Speaker 2>of it? Instead of just one giant superstar in the middle.

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<v Speaker 3>The mechanism at play here involves a very specific complex

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<v Speaker 3>physical process known as sequential fragmentation.

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00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:19.119
<v Speaker 2>Sequential fragmentation.

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<v Speaker 3>As this massive disc spins, it begins to cool. When

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<v Speaker 3>gas cools, it loses the thermal pressure that was fighting against gravity.

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<v Speaker 3>Gravity starts to win, pulling clumps of material together within

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<v Speaker 3>the disk.

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00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:34.880
<v Speaker 2>Okay, so it gets clumpy exactly.

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00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:37.279
<v Speaker 3>If the disc is massive enough, and if it cools

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00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:41.160
<v Speaker 3>rapidly enough, it becomes gravitationally unstable. Instead of all the

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00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:44.799
<v Speaker 3>material rushing smoothly into the center to form one giant star,

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00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:50.279
<v Speaker 3>the disc essentially breaks apart in stages. It fragments sequentially.

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00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:52.640
<v Speaker 2>So the pizza dough gets lumpy, and those lumps start

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00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:54.559
<v Speaker 2>pulling in more dough until they ignite.

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00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:57.519
<v Speaker 3>A very apt way to put it, the central densest

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<v Speaker 3>part of the core might form the innermost binary past.

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00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:04.720
<v Speaker 4>That star AA and as Cartner right, but there is

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00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:08.920
<v Speaker 4>still a massive, heavy spinning disk of material left rotating

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00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:13.319
<v Speaker 4>around them, So that remaining disc fragments again, gathering enough

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00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.440
<v Speaker 4>mass to collapse and ignite.

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00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:17.400
<v Speaker 2>The third star, the Angry Hornet Yes.

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00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.680
<v Speaker 3>And then much further out in the cooler, less dense

399
00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.440
<v Speaker 3>reaches of the disc, a final fragment collapses to form

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00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:26.279
<v Speaker 3>that fourth sun like star.

401
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.240
<v Speaker 2>That explains why they are all on the same flat plane,

402
00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:32.039
<v Speaker 2>because the doughs already flat before it got lumpy.

403
00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.559
<v Speaker 3>Exactly, the initial angular momentum of the primordial disc dictates

404
00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.000
<v Speaker 3>the orbital planes of everything that forms.

405
00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:40.519
<v Speaker 2>Out of it. That makes perfect sense.

406
00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:42.920
<v Speaker 3>And what is also fascinating here is that the physics

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00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:47.319
<v Speaker 3>of sequential fragmentation naturally favors the creation of binary or

408
00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.559
<v Speaker 3>multiple star components that have nearly equal mass. This perfectly

409
00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:55.039
<v Speaker 3>explains why the inner three stars are all relatively massive

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00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:57.960
<v Speaker 3>and hot, similar in scale to one another compared to

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00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:58.599
<v Speaker 3>the outer star.

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00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.160
<v Speaker 2>But hold on, Beckup, that makes zero sense to me

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00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.240
<v Speaker 2>when we look at their current location. Why is that

414
00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:05.839
<v Speaker 2>if they formed from different rings of a spinning disk

415
00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.400
<v Speaker 2>the center, a middle ring, and an outer ring, they

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00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:13.480
<v Speaker 2>should be further apart. If the inner three stars currently

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00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.839
<v Speaker 2>fit inside Mercury's orbit, how do they get crammed in there?

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00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.720
<v Speaker 2>They couldn't have formed that close together initially, could they?

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00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:22.119
<v Speaker 2>There wouldn't have been enough raw gas in such a

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00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.759
<v Speaker 2>tiny spatial volume to build three massive stars.

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00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:29.000
<v Speaker 3>You have hit on the exact paradox that astronomers had

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00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.599
<v Speaker 3>to solve. You were entirely correct, Oh, I am, Yes,

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00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:36.119
<v Speaker 3>they could not have formed in their current incredibly compact configuration.

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00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.920
<v Speaker 3>The physical volume within Mercury's orbit simply cannot hold enough

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00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.000
<v Speaker 3>primordial gas to berth three stars of that mass. They

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00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:45.720
<v Speaker 3>had to have formed much further out in the disk

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00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.640
<v Speaker 3>and then moved inward. Moved inward, yes, And this is

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00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.359
<v Speaker 3>where a concept called disk driven migration comes into play.

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00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:55.599
<v Speaker 2>Disc driven migration. So they literally surfed the disc inward.

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00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:58.920
<v Speaker 2>How does the star migrate? It weighs millions of times

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00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:01.079
<v Speaker 2>more than the Earth. It doesn't casually drift.

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00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.960
<v Speaker 3>It requires immense forces, and those forces are supplied by

433
00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.920
<v Speaker 3>the disc itself. Even after the stellar cores have fully

434
00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:12.559
<v Speaker 3>formed and ignited, they aren't orbiting in a clean vacuum.

435
00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.440
<v Speaker 2>Yet because there's still all that leftover gas.

436
00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.559
<v Speaker 3>They are still embedded deep inside the remnants of that

437
00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:21.559
<v Speaker 3>massive primordial disc of gas and dust. As the young

438
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:26.000
<v Speaker 3>massive stars move through this dense material, they experience friction.

439
00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:27.799
<v Speaker 2>Oh wow, friction in space.

440
00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.680
<v Speaker 3>Furthermore, their immense gravity creates wakes in the gas disc,

441
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.279
<v Speaker 3>much like a boat creating awake in water. The gravitational

442
00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:37.799
<v Speaker 3>interaction between the mass of the stars and the dense

443
00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:40.599
<v Speaker 3>spiral density waves they whip up in the surrounding disc

444
00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:43.920
<v Speaker 3>actually leaches orbital energy away from the stars.

445
00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.359
<v Speaker 2>It's like trying to run through waste deep water instead

446
00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:48.799
<v Speaker 2>of running on a track. The drag slows you down,

447
00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:51.640
<v Speaker 2>and in orbital mechanics, when you lose energy and slow down,

448
00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:53.720
<v Speaker 2>you don't just stop in place, you lose altitude. You

449
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.839
<v Speaker 2>fall inward toward the center of gravity.

450
00:21:56.119 --> 00:22:01.039
<v Speaker 3>Precisely, the conservation of orbital energy is unforgiving. As the

451
00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:05.079
<v Speaker 3>disc strips momentum from the stars, the dynamics physically force

452
00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:08.079
<v Speaker 3>these inner stars to migrate closer and closer to the center,

453
00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:11.400
<v Speaker 3>shrinking their orbits over thousands and millions of years.

454
00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:13.240
<v Speaker 2>That is terrifying and amazing.

455
00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:17.720
<v Speaker 3>This continuous inward pull, driven by the friction and gravitational

456
00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:20.880
<v Speaker 3>drag of the disk is what ultimately resulted in the

457
00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:25.400
<v Speaker 3>incredibly compact, tightly wound inner subsystem we are looking at today.

458
00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:29.279
<v Speaker 2>So they formed far apart the gas dragged them inward

459
00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:32.559
<v Speaker 2>until they were practically touching, and then what Why didn't

460
00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:34.839
<v Speaker 2>they just keep migrating until they crashed into each other

461
00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:36.759
<v Speaker 2>and merged into a saddle star.

462
00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.400
<v Speaker 3>Because eventually the disc runs out of material. As the

463
00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.960
<v Speaker 3>stars burn hotter and brighter, they generate intense stellar winds

464
00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:47.480
<v Speaker 3>and radiation pressure. This pressure begins to physically blow the

465
00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:49.400
<v Speaker 3>remaining gas and dust out of the system.

466
00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:51.640
<v Speaker 2>They clear their own neighborhood exactly.

467
00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:56.039
<v Speaker 3>Additionally, whatever gas isn't blown away is actively accreted or

468
00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.319
<v Speaker 3>eaten by the stars themselves. Once that primordial disc matterial

469
00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:04.400
<v Speaker 3>was finally cleared away, the friction disappeared, the migrations stopped.

470
00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:09.279
<v Speaker 3>The stars were effectively locked into their current incredibly tight configuration.

471
00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:12.640
<v Speaker 2>The water drained from the pool, so the drag stopped,

472
00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:16.319
<v Speaker 2>which naturally leads anyone listening to wonder about the safety

473
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.759
<v Speaker 2>of this setup. Right now, you just described an origin

474
00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:22.160
<v Speaker 2>story that sounds like a near miss catastrophe.

475
00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:22.640
<v Speaker 3>It does.

476
00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:26.759
<v Speaker 2>You have three massive ultra hot stars crammed into a

477
00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.559
<v Speaker 2>space smaller than Mercury's orbit, whipping around each other of

478
00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:31.559
<v Speaker 2>a few days, with a fourth star acting as a

479
00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:34.599
<v Speaker 2>giant gravitational boundary. Are they going to crash into each

480
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:35.240
<v Speaker 2>other tomorrow?

481
00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:38.119
<v Speaker 3>The good news is no, not tomorrow, and not for

482
00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:41.359
<v Speaker 3>a very long time. Despite the incredibly close quarters and

483
00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:44.640
<v Speaker 3>the sheer kinetic energy involved, the current architecture of Tika

484
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.839
<v Speaker 3>one two zero three six two one three seven is

485
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:47.799
<v Speaker 3>remarkably stable.

486
00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:48.599
<v Speaker 2>That is surprising.

487
00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:52.720
<v Speaker 3>The researchers ran extensive n body gravitational simulations and determined

488
00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:55.440
<v Speaker 3>that these orbits are expected to remain stable throughout the

489
00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:57.720
<v Speaker 3>entire main sequence lifetime of these stars.

490
00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:01.319
<v Speaker 2>I hear that term a lot in astronomy main sequence.

491
00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:04.160
<v Speaker 2>What does that actually mean for a star? Is it

492
00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.519
<v Speaker 2>like a star's prime working years?

493
00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.519
<v Speaker 3>That is a perfect way to think about it. The

494
00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.599
<v Speaker 3>main sequence is the prime of a star's life. It

495
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:14.240
<v Speaker 3>is the period during which a star is actively and

496
00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:17.240
<v Speaker 3>consistently fusing hydrogen into helium.

497
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:18.519
<v Speaker 2>In its core okay fusion.

498
00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:22.160
<v Speaker 3>This fusion process releases immense amounts of energy, creating an

499
00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.960
<v Speaker 3>outward thermal pressure. This outward pressure perfectly balances the inward

500
00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.440
<v Speaker 3>pull of the star's own massive gravity. This state of

501
00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:32.880
<v Speaker 3>balance is called hydrostatic equilibrium.

502
00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.400
<v Speaker 2>So as long as the engine is running and pushing outward,

503
00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:37.400
<v Speaker 2>the star doesn't collapse.

504
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:40.240
<v Speaker 3>Correct For stars like the massive ones in the inner trio,

505
00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:43.960
<v Speaker 3>this main sequence phase can last for millions or billions

506
00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:45.960
<v Speaker 3>of years, depending on their exact mass.

507
00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.759
<v Speaker 2>Do bigger stars live longer?

508
00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.599
<v Speaker 3>Actually the opposite. Generally, the more massive a star, the

509
00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:53.359
<v Speaker 3>faster it burns through its hydrogen fuel, resulting in a

510
00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:54.079
<v Speaker 3>shorter life.

511
00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.599
<v Speaker 2>Oh interesting, fast and furious exactly.

512
00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.319
<v Speaker 3>But as long as they remain in the stable hydrogen

513
00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.799
<v Speaker 3>burning phase, their physical sizes and their gravitational interactions, while

514
00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:07.000
<v Speaker 3>complex and frenetic, will maintain this delicate balance. The three

515
00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:10.039
<v Speaker 3>plus one dance will continue uninterrupted, and.

516
00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:13.640
<v Speaker 2>There is always a massive cosmic But when we were

517
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:17.000
<v Speaker 2>talking about stellar dynamics on a timeline of billions of years,

518
00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:21.640
<v Speaker 2>this delicate dance absolutely cannot last forever, can it? Because

519
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.160
<v Speaker 2>the fuel eventually runs out?

520
00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:25.599
<v Speaker 3>It does. When we look to the deep future of

521
00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.119
<v Speaker 3>Tick one one two zero three six two one three seven,

522
00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:33.039
<v Speaker 3>the simulations of its stellar dynamics show a very dramatic,

523
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:34.240
<v Speaker 3>inevitable conclusion.

524
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:34.880
<v Speaker 2>I knew it.

525
00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:38.279
<v Speaker 3>Eventually, these stars will exhaust the hydrogen fuel in their cores.

526
00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:41.160
<v Speaker 3>When that happens, the hydrostatic euculibrium is broken.

527
00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.200
<v Speaker 2>Because the engine stops pushing out yes, the.

528
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:47.480
<v Speaker 3>Outward pressure drops and gravity temporarily wins, crushing the core inward.

529
00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:50.119
<v Speaker 3>This crushing actually heats the core up so much that

530
00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:52.599
<v Speaker 3>it triggers fusion in the outer layers of the star.

531
00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:55.119
<v Speaker 2>And when a star starts burning its outer layers, it

532
00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.000
<v Speaker 2>swells up. Yeah, it becomes a red giant.

533
00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.880
<v Speaker 3>Exactly. The stars will expand massively involved, and this is

534
00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:04.720
<v Speaker 3>where the extreme compactness of tik one two zero three

535
00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:07.119
<v Speaker 3>six two one three seven becomes its doom.

536
00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:09.519
<v Speaker 2>Oh no, because they are so close.

537
00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:12.559
<v Speaker 3>Remember, they are currently sitting inside a boundary smaller than

538
00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:16.160
<v Speaker 3>Mercury's orbit. If even one of those massive inner stars

539
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.640
<v Speaker 3>expands into a red giant, it will physically swell past

540
00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:23.200
<v Speaker 3>its own gravitational boundary, a limit known as the rochlobe

541
00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:23.839
<v Speaker 3>the rouchlobe.

542
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:26.039
<v Speaker 2>So it swells so big that its own gravity can't

543
00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:27.680
<v Speaker 2>hold onto its outer layers anymore.

544
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.920
<v Speaker 3>Precisely, the outer layers of the swelling star will literally

545
00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.720
<v Speaker 3>be pulled off by the intense gravity of its incredibly

546
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:34.400
<v Speaker 3>close neighbor.

547
00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.359
<v Speaker 2>It just strips it there.

548
00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:39.079
<v Speaker 3>This initiates a process called mass transfer. Star a starts

549
00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:42.400
<v Speaker 3>dumping millions of tons of superheated plasma onto star B.

550
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.799
<v Speaker 3>This drastically alters the mass of both stars, which in

551
00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:50.000
<v Speaker 3>turn drastically alters their gravitational pull, which destabilizes their previously

552
00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:50.920
<v Speaker 3>perfect orbits.

553
00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:54.079
<v Speaker 2>The intricate salsedance turns into a violent mosh pit.

554
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:59.119
<v Speaker 3>It becomes incredibly chaotic. The simulations indicate that the system

555
00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:03.960
<v Speaker 3>will ultimately undergo a catastrophic collapse. The tightest pair in

556
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.640
<v Speaker 3>the center will likely interact first, transferring mass and altering

557
00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:11.720
<v Speaker 3>their orbits, which will inevitably destabilize the third inner star.

558
00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:13.759
<v Speaker 2>So there's no escaping it for them none.

559
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.720
<v Speaker 3>The inescapable destiny for the inner three stars is that

560
00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:20.599
<v Speaker 3>they will merge, entirely merge. We are talking about an

561
00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:26.839
<v Speaker 3>incomprehensibly violent cosmic pile up where three massive blazing stars collide,

562
00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.480
<v Speaker 3>spiral into one another, and consume each other in a

563
00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:30.799
<v Speaker 3>massive release of energy.

564
00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:34.319
<v Speaker 2>That would be a sight to see a luminous red nova,

565
00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.839
<v Speaker 2>just three sons ripping each other apart until there is

566
00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:37.559
<v Speaker 2>only one left.

567
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:38.799
<v Speaker 3>It would be spectacular.

568
00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:42.000
<v Speaker 2>And what happens after the dust settles from that apocalyptic merger?

569
00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:45.880
<v Speaker 2>You get this one massive Frankenstein stars sitting in the middle,

570
00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:48.720
<v Speaker 2>and the little sun like stars still dutifully orbiting on

571
00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:52.119
<v Speaker 2>the outside. Does the Frankenstein Star just live happily ever after?

572
00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:53.400
<v Speaker 2>It does not, of course not.

573
00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.519
<v Speaker 3>The massive singular entity created by the collision will have

574
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:02.039
<v Speaker 3>a very turbulent short lifespan. It will eventually burn out

575
00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:05.599
<v Speaker 3>the last of its usable nuclear fuel without fusion to

576
00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:08.359
<v Speaker 3>prop it up. It will shed its outer layers into

577
00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:13.920
<v Speaker 3>a beautiful planetary nebula, leaving behind only its dead, hyperdense.

578
00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:14.599
<v Speaker 2>Core, so it shrinks down.

579
00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:19.559
<v Speaker 3>Yes, the final result of this entire spectacular inner three

580
00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:22.599
<v Speaker 3>star system will be a single white dwarf.

581
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.759
<v Speaker 2>A white dwarf could just a ground it for everyone.

582
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:26.960
<v Speaker 2>A white dwarf is essentially a star that has the

583
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.319
<v Speaker 2>mass of our Sun, but it has been crushed down

584
00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:32.039
<v Speaker 2>by gravity until it is roughly the physical size of

585
00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:35.319
<v Speaker 2>the Earth. It's just a glowing ember of incredibly dense.

586
00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:39.160
<v Speaker 3>Matter, supported entirely by a quantum mechanical phenomenon called electron

587
00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:42.720
<v Speaker 3>degeneracy pressure, where the electrons literally refuse to be squeezed

588
00:28:42.759 --> 00:28:43.559
<v Speaker 3>any closer together.

589
00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:44.960
<v Speaker 2>This is so dense it is dead.

590
00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:47.480
<v Speaker 3>No fusion is happening. It is just slowly cooling in

591
00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:48.000
<v Speaker 3>the dark one.

592
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.200
<v Speaker 2>What about the fourth star, the little sunl like soloist

593
00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:51.920
<v Speaker 2>out on the edge.

594
00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:55.119
<v Speaker 3>Eventually, billions of years later, that outer fourth star will

595
00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:58.039
<v Speaker 3>run out of hydrogen, go through its own red giant phase,

596
00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:00.440
<v Speaker 3>shed its layers, and also become a white dwarf.

597
00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.599
<v Speaker 2>So the grand finale the end of the movie for

598
00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:06.599
<v Speaker 2>top one two zero three six two one three seven. Yes,

599
00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.400
<v Speaker 2>it goes from a massive, sprawling disc of primordial gas

600
00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:14.599
<v Speaker 2>to a blazing, frantic quadruple star system packed into an

601
00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:19.480
<v Speaker 2>impossible space down to two quiet, impossibly dense, cooling white

602
00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:21.640
<v Speaker 2>dwarf cinders just orbiting each other in.

603
00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:24.279
<v Speaker 3>The dark, a binary white dwark system. It is a

604
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:28.640
<v Speaker 3>profound and sobering life cycle, and this inevitable, dramatic fate

605
00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:31.920
<v Speaker 3>is precisely why the continued monitoring of TAC one two

606
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.799
<v Speaker 3>zero three six two one three seven is so vital

607
00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:36.720
<v Speaker 3>to the scientific community, because.

608
00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:38.480
<v Speaker 2>We are essentially trying to build a timeline from a

609
00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:39.880
<v Speaker 2>single photograph.

610
00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:41.160
<v Speaker 3>Right That is the challenge of astronomy.

611
00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:43.880
<v Speaker 2>Tracking the system and hopefully finding and monitoring any future

612
00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:47.480
<v Speaker 2>quadruple systems out there is essential for astronomers. They're trying

613
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:50.599
<v Speaker 2>to crack the code of how these exotic rear systems evolve.

614
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:54.400
<v Speaker 2>Dynamically over billions of years. Exactly, we're currently just looking

615
00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:57.880
<v Speaker 2>at one single microscopic snapshot and a cosmic movie that

616
00:29:57.920 --> 00:29:59.200
<v Speaker 2>takes eons to play out.

617
00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:03.039
<v Speaker 3>Yes, and by gathering high precision photometric and spectroscopic data

618
00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:06.240
<v Speaker 3>on systems like this, we can feed real world numbers

619
00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:06.839
<v Speaker 3>into our.

620
00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:08.480
<v Speaker 2>Supercomputers to predict the future.

621
00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:12.400
<v Speaker 3>To predict the future and understand the past, we can

622
00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:15.759
<v Speaker 3>refine our n body simulations and better understand the hidden

623
00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:19.240
<v Speaker 3>gravitational rules that govern the universe. It allows us to

624
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:23.400
<v Speaker 3>test our theories of sequential fragmentation, disk driven migration, and

625
00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:27.079
<v Speaker 3>stellar evolution in extreme boundary pushing environments.

626
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:31.519
<v Speaker 2>It really is a staggering reality to visualize four massive

627
00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:35.039
<v Speaker 2>stars occupying the same physical space as our peaceful inner

628
00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:38.400
<v Speaker 2>Solar system. We have this quiet little neighborhood with our

629
00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:42.039
<v Speaker 2>one son, and somewhere out there four stars are locked

630
00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:45.039
<v Speaker 2>in a gravitational cage match that is destined to end

631
00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:48.200
<v Speaker 2>in a massive merger, leaving behind only glowing embers.

632
00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:49.480
<v Speaker 3>It is a lot to take in.

633
00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:51.720
<v Speaker 2>It makes you look at the night sky completely differently

634
00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:52.279
<v Speaker 2>it should.

635
00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:54.799
<v Speaker 3>It leaves you with a thought worth mulling over long

636
00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:57.119
<v Speaker 3>after you hear this is that if a system this

637
00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:01.279
<v Speaker 3>intensely complex is tightly packed in this chaotic can somehow

638
00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:05.119
<v Speaker 3>maintain a stable, intricate gravitational dance for billions of years

639
00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:08.000
<v Speaker 3>before it's inevitable collapse. What does that say about the

640
00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:12.440
<v Speaker 3>unseen delicate balances keeping our own seemingly empty solar system

641
00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:12.880
<v Speaker 3>in check.

642
00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:13.680
<v Speaker 2>Oh that's a good point.

643
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:17.279
<v Speaker 3>Our local neighborhood feels incredibly calm, but it is governed

644
00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:21.440
<v Speaker 3>by the exact same, unforgiving chaotic forces of orbital mechanics.

645
00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:25.279
<v Speaker 2>It makes you wonder what other fortuitous and chaotic cosmic

646
00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:27.799
<v Speaker 2>dances are hiding just behind a single point of light

647
00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:30.680
<v Speaker 2>in your night sky, just waiting for us to decipher

648
00:31:30.720 --> 00:32:41.200
<v Speaker 2>their rhythms. The gay Seas