General Question

Inspired_2write's avatar

Is it possible for the Sun to break up in two? (Two Suns)?

Asked by Inspired_2write (14486points) May 1st, 2013

Or will gravity actually hold it together?
Is it possible for earth to have two Suns at the same time in this way?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

15 Answers

Seek's avatar

Like… mitosis? Splitting like a cell?

There’s no evidence that I’m aware of that would suggest this has happened or could happen.

It may be possible for planets to orbit a binary star system, but I imagine they would most likely be unable to support life. I mean, it would constantly have to be in the “Goldilocks zone” of both planets, all the time.

Now, if you’re writing science fiction, go right ahead and write about a planet in a binary star system. Enough people have.

Blackberry's avatar

And there would have to be something to split it in half, and whatever that is would kill us, anyway.

Inspired_2write's avatar

What is at the Suns center? ( lava?)
Eruptions.
I also thought that the sun is all energy and growing bigger?
One day wouldn’t it explode?

marinelife's avatar

No, it is not possible. Some planets can have twin suns, but not from one.

PhiNotPi's avatar

No, it is not possible for the sun to split into two. Its own gravity is what holds the sun together.

In order for the sun to split into two, there must be a minimum of two acceleration events. First, the two halves must accelerate away from each other. Second, they must accelerate “sideways,” so that they are able to enter an elliptic orbit around each other. There is no known physical mechanism by which a star is able to accelerate itself to the required speeds under its own power.

Inspired_2write's avatar

Is exploding possible, therefore providing acceleration?
Or what has to happen for that explosion to occurr?

bob_'s avatar

No. Don’t worry about it.

glacial's avatar

The sun is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. No lava. It will probably be around as we know it for a few billion years to come. The life cycle of a star looks something like this. It will eventually stop supporting life on Earth (if there is any left by then), but it won’t break into smaller stars.

filmfann's avatar

If the sun was hit by a smaller star, it would absorb the star, and belch out a like-sized 2nd sun, much like the moon did from the Earth. However, because of its size and gravity, it would quickly reabsorb the smaller Sun. All that would probably be the end of us all, so don’t sweat it too much.

Seek's avatar

Also, our sun is too small to blow up. In about four billion years, it’ll become a red giant, consuming the whole of the dollar system, then eventually fizzle into a brown dwarf.

Seek's avatar

Solar system. Flunkering.

mattbrowne's avatar

No, but sometimes white dwarfs do something that goes in this direction. You need a binary star system with a white dwarf and a growing red giant being close enough. The white dwarfs begins “stealing” matter from the giant. Depending on the distance and the initial weight of the white dwarf this can lead to a type 1a supernova.

Dutchess_III's avatar

No, lava is not at the center of the sun. The sun is not a solid object.

mattbrowne's avatar

The elements of lava are present in the sun (silicon, oxygen etc). But there are no covalent and ionic bonds, because of the high temperatures, not only at the center, but also the outer layers. It’s all plasma which means that all atoms are ionized. Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and gas).

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