Can a Binary System sustain life? Some of the extra-solar planets discovered have been within a binary system. How about if our solar system would have been a binary system? If Jupiter were able to start up and burn, how would that affect gravity with the rest of the planets. Any comments? Thanks and God Bless.

Yes, in theory, a binary system could suport life.
For example, you have a Star of 1 solar mass (same wreight as our sun) and, maybe at the distance of where pluto is, a white dwaf star, keeping orbit with the larger star.
This 2nd star would casue odd seasons, when it is eclipsed by the larger (lets say and earth sized planet is close to the larger) the gravitational effects would be like that of just the one star, when the planet is in between the stars, longer summers could occur. So, yes life could exist in a binary system, but not indefinantly. The gravitational pull these 2 stars would have on each other would eventualy pull them together.
There are some unique settings that would allow to keep that from occuring as well.

Oh ys, and if jupiter were to suddenly 'light up' its gravitational pull to the sun, and everything else in our solar system would not change, for its mass would be the same.

[Edited by MrDonutMan on 08/18/01 at 03:35]

I don't think anyone could live on the planet the size of an ear.
Anyways, I wonder if a star can have rings, do you know if this is possible, or would a mass large enough to be a star be too large to have rings?
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"Ever sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who knows where his towel is." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (RIP, 1952-2001)

Gbart good question in regards to the star-ring. I've never thought of that. My guess is that you never know what you may find out there. What do you think about the Earth having 2 moons. How would that affect the sea tides?

There would be much more variation. There would be a lot more complicated weather patterns. The Egyptian pyramids would have been different. The space race between the US and USSR would have been longer and the USSR probably have claimed the othere one. That would be very strange. Get used to it, because Mars has 2 moons and it will be a part of daily human life sometime soon.
__________________
"Lower your shields and surrender your ship. You will all be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will be adapted to serve us. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE." - The Borg

"Ever sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who knows where his towel is." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (RIP, 1952-2001)

Gbart, you arnt funny, i was tired, its suposed to say earth, when i tried to re-post it said i had posted too recently, and then i went to bed. Besides, i fixxed it. :-P

actualy, you could say our sun has a ring...That teeny-tiny thing we refer to as the asteroid belt, that lies between Mars and Jupiter. well, its not really close enough to be all shiney and perty though...at least not from our perspective.

It's sparse and only there because of Jupiter, though. One would think that the rings would be a little more solid and closer to the sun, but I see what you mean, and I guess you're right.
__________________
"Lower your shields and surrender your ship. You will all be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will be adapted to serve us. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE." - The Borg

"Ever sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who knows where his towel is." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (RIP, 1952-2001)

If Jupiter was a sun it would be too far away to make much differance in the weather here on earth. I have been researching a fictional binary system and found out that if another star about the size of the Sun were only 3.371 AU away, thats about three times as far as the Earth is from the sun. It would only put out about 25% of the sunlight as the sun. Jupiter is about 4.2 AU from the Earth so it's aparent brightness would only be about 16% of the Suns, and thats if it were as massive as the Sun. If Jupiter lit up it would not be much brighter than it is now.It's closet nabours would feel the warmth but here on Earth there would be very little difference.
Tanning....Cavorite
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I do belive that an Earth like planet could survive in a binary star system and have been doing research into this for a book I'm writing. If the planet orbits retrograde to the direction of the stars, then it's orbit has a better chance of remaining stable. I have a model that I have put on several simulators and found it to be stable. The planet only orbits one of the stars in the syatem and the stars are relitively close to each other. They are about the size of the Sun and are at 2.0 AU and 2.5 AU from the centre of mass, with the planet orbiting at 1.129AU from the outer star. This keeps the other star and the planet at a Perhelion (closeest distance) of 3.371 AU and with a mass of 1.3 of the Sun has an apparent brightness of 25% of the Sun. So you see even if the stars are relitively close there would not be blinding light and uncontrolable UV.
Somewhere in space....Cavorite
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