You Discover a Binary Star System in Which One Member

question 71

Multiple Choice

You discover a binary star system in which one member is a15 solar mass main- sequence star and the other star is a 10 solar mass giant star. How do we believe that a star system such as this might have come to exist?

• A)Although both stars probably formed from the same clump of gas, the more massive one must have had its birth slowed so that it became a main- sequence star millions of years later than its less massive companion.
• B)The main- sequence star probably is a pulsating variable star and therefore appears to be less massive than it really is.
• C)The two stars probably were once separate but became a binary when a close encounter allowed their mutual gravity to pull them together.
• D)Other than the very low odds of finding a system with two such massive stars, there is nothing surprising about the fact that such systems exist.
• E)The giant must once have been the more massive star but transferred some of its mass to its companion.

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