Binary Stars

Binary system is the celestial system where two stars are bound by gravity. In our Milky Way galaxy’s more than 100 billion stars, binaries and multi-star systems are very common. In the 60 of the Sun’s closest stars, there are 11 binary systems.

In this exhibit, there are two stars, the big red one represents a star of red giant, while the smaller blue one represents the star of white dwarf. There is a “bridge” connecting these two stars --- symbolizing the material flow between them. The material flow is designed to be a slide --- with the person riding on the slide signifying the material transfer from the red giant to the white dwarf. This slide is a must try for children.