Astronomers have found an unusual four-star system just 82 light-years away in the constellation Antlia. The system, named UPM J1040−3551 AabBab, contains two red dwarf stars orbiting each other and two brown dwarfs also in orbit around each other. These two pairs then orbit a common center. “What makes this discovery particularly exciting is the hierarchical nature of the system, which is required for its orbit to remain stable over a long time period,” explains Professor Zenghua Zhang of Nanjing University, who led the research team. “These two pairs of objects are orbiting each other separately for periods of decades, … Continue reading Astronomers Find Rare Quadruple Star System with Brown Dwarfs 82 Light-Years from Earth