double star

English

Noun

double star (plural double stars)

1. (astronomy) Two stars which form a stellar system, such that they orbit the point of equilibrium of their gravitational fields; a binary star.
2. (astronomy) Two stars that appear to be one when seen with the naked eye, either because they orbit one another (binary stars) or happen to be in the same line of sight even though they are separated by a great distance (optical binaries).

Synonyms

• (star system): binary, binary star, double star system, binary star system

Related terms

• single star, single star system
• triple star
• multiple star

Derived terms

• double star system

See also

• star system

Translations

double star

• Basque: izar bikoitz (eu)
• Catalan: estrella doble (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雙星 (cmn), 双星 (cmn) (shuāngxīng)

• Esperanto: duobla stelo (eo)
• Finnish: kaksoistähti (fi)
• French: étoile double (fr) f, étoile binaire (fr) f

• German: Doppelstern (de) m
• Irish: réalta dhúbailte (ga) f
• Japanese: 二重星 (ja) (にじゅうせい, nijūsei)
• Portuguese: estrela dupla (pt) f
• Russian: двойная звезда (ru) (dvojnája zvezdá) f
• Spanish: estrella doble (es) f

References

• "double star" in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.