What would be the consequences if Earth had not one but two suns?

How many of you remember Tatooine, the two-star planet of Star Wars? This planet, which has adorned our dreams for years, makes us ask some questions. Even though we love our Sun, what would it be like if there were two stars in the Solar System that the Earth is in?

It’s a beautiful thing to imagine an Earth orbiting two stars. Especially those magnificent sunsets would be very beautiful. So is such a thing really possible? Could Earth continue to harbor life by revolving around two stars? Today we will try to give you the answer to this question.

Is it possible to have two Suns side by side instead of one?

Although there is a perception that star systems consist of a single star, we actually see that many stars in the universe take place with a friend. Binary or more star systems are extremely common. In fact, there are three stars in total in Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to us. In other words, it is a common situation that stars can be side by side, as we can see from every corner of the universe.

So, can Earth exist in a two-star system?

We come to the main question of our content. If our Sun had a brother next to it, there could still be life on Earth, but for this it is necessary to clarify some conditions. First of all, there is something we must accept. There is much more chaos in systems with two or more stars than in our Solar System. Still, even in such a situation, life on Earth might be possible. Of course, there are many factors for this, such as the brightness, size and distance of the stars.

What would it take for an Earth that bids farewell to both its stars every evening?

In order for our Earth to continue to host life in the binary star system, it is necessary to pay attention to some important points. First, in this scenario, both stars would have to be half the luminosity of our current Sun.

However, the fact that these two stars are very close to each other is another important point. If the distance between these two stars is less than 15 million kilometers, all the planets in the Solar System (even Mercury) could remain in potential stable orbit.

We used to experience 6 hour eclipses every 5 days.

Let’s say the distance between two stars is 5 million kilometers. At this distance, when viewed from the outside, it would take 10 days for the two stars to revolve around them. In other words, the stars would pass in front of each other every 5 days. The resulting eclipses would last for about 6 hours, and we would feel a bit cold as we couldn’t take the heat of one of our stars in the process. However, this cold did not reach very serious dimensions.

We could easily exist in such a system.

As far as we can see, we can continue to live on Earth in the scenario where two stars with half the Sun’s luminosity are in close and stable orbits. It’s okay for us to exist. The real problem here starts in the first phase, when the planets are just forming. At that initial stage, we see that things get a little confusing.

Binary star systems can have some difficulty creating rocky planets.

A binary star system doesn’t seem like a good fit for a relatively small, rocky planet like Earth to form. According to research, planets formed in such systems are gas giants that are much larger than our planet.

So far, we have not seen a planet like ours in such systems in suitable environments. But that doesn’t mean we can’t see it. Although we have not currently encountered a planet like ours in such a system, we may discover such planets in the future.

Today, “Would the world still be suitable for life if it were in a two-star system instead of a single star?” We tried to answer the question. If you want more content like this, you can write to us in the comments.

• Sources: Forbes, Howstuffworks, Quora