Or can they spin around larger stars?
(And is our sun always motionless?)
2007-11-23 00:25:17 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Stars are usually within galaxies.
Stars, in galaxies, are in orbit around the galaxy's centre. Our own Sun orbits the Milky Way Galaxy's centre once every 220 million years.
Our Sun is a 'single' star. Many stars are part of multiple-star-systems (doubles, triples... up to six for Castor, a star in the constellation Gemini) that orbit their mutual centre of mass (barycentre).
In addition, any star that has objects around it (other stars or planets) will wobble, because it is actually in orbit around the barycentre of the system. It is this wobble that allows us to discover many of the exoplanets we have found so far.
In our system, because the Sun is so massive compared to the rest of the system, the barycentre of the system is located inside the Sun, so that the wobble is not very large. However, it is still there (and it is measurable, even if it does not show up when we casually observe it).
Also, our Sun rotates around its axis (the same way Earth rotates on its axis). When there are sunspots, we can follow the rotation by following the position, day after day, of the sunspots.
Do observe carefully with the appropriate filters; direct sunligt is very bad for the eyes.
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Stars (other than our Sun) are so far away that they appear fixed. We have to observe them for years (in some cases, centuries) to be able to detect any change in their positions that is due to their proper motion. But it is there. They move. Some faster than others.
2007-11-23 00:33:04 · answer #1 · answered by Raymond 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They can and do spin around larger stars. There are several binary star groups. There are even trinary and more. There is even one system with a pair of binary stars orbiting each other, with the stars of each pair orbiting its partner. Whether it is a planet, star, or even a black hole, gravitational effects are the same. Gravity only starts doing really crazy stuff as you approach the event horizon of a black hole.
Even our star moves. It is moving in comparison to the rest of the galaxy; the distances involved are just too big for us to notice. Our star even wobbles! As the planets go around our star, our star wobbles just as you would if you swing a weight around your body by a rope.
2007-11-23 00:30:44 · answer #2 · answered by Edward S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stars are always moving in relation to other stars etc.
They are so far away that the constellations appear to stay the same but they are always slowly changing.
That applies to our sun as seen by a remote observer.
2007-11-23 01:12:01 · answer #3 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They're all moving, all the time. Two stars can spin around each other; our sun is moving in its galaxy; the galaxies are moving. Nothing's still.
2007-11-23 00:29:24 · answer #4 · answered by bonitakale 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
not necessarily
2007-11-23 01:17:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋