Huge stars are born as twins, triplets and more, new images confirm

False-color image of the massive star formation region G333.23–0.06 from data obtained with the ALMA radio observatory. The insets show regions in which Li et al. were able to detect multiple systems of protostars. The star symbols indicate the location of each newly forming stars. The image covers a region 0.62 by 0.78 light-years in size (which on the sky covers a mere 7.5 times 9.5 arc seconds).

A newly imaged crowded star cluster is birthing groups of three, four and five stars, confirming the prevailing wisdom that the universe forms its stars in multiples, astronomers reported last week.

Observations made with the Atacama Large Millimetre-submillimetre Array (ALMA) in Chile gathered between 2016 and 2019 of 30 large star-forming regions show that one protocluster, named G333.23-0.06, is birthing groups of multiple stars: four binaries, a triplet, a quadruple and one quintuple system. The findings, reported Jan. 15 in the journal Nature Astronomy, are consistent with what star formation models have long predicted, astronomers say.