contact binary
noun
: a binary star system in which the two stars are close enough together for material to pass between them
Examples of contact binary in a Sentence
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Sweeping past the contact binary Arrokoth at a distance of just 3,500 kilometers (2,198 miles) in 2019, the images that New Horizons returned appeared to an untrained eye to resemble an unspectacular lumpy potato.
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Diane Hope, Ars Technica, 12 Dec. 2023
Based on models of contact binary star behavior, the two should meet in an incandescent bear hug in 2022, give or take a year or so.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Those observations should help to refine our models of contact binary star mergers and shore up Molnar's prediction.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Discovered a bit over a decade ago, it was recently shown to be a contact binary star — two stars orbiting each other so tightly that their atmospheres are conjoined in a stellar embrace.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Ultima Thule — considered a contact binary — is the most distant world ever explored.
—Marcia Dunn, The Seattle Times, 12 Feb. 2019
It’s two asteroids that have collided and stuck together many years ago, becoming what’s known as a contact binary.
—Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 2 Jan. 2019
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Diane Hope, Ars Technica, 12 Dec. 2023
Based on models of contact binary star behavior, the two should meet in an incandescent bear hug in 2022, give or take a year or so.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Those observations should help to refine our models of contact binary star mergers and shore up Molnar's prediction.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Discovered a bit over a decade ago, it was recently shown to be a contact binary star — two stars orbiting each other so tightly that their atmospheres are conjoined in a stellar embrace.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2017
Ultima Thule — considered a contact binary — is the most distant world ever explored.
—Marcia Dunn, The Seattle Times, 12 Feb. 2019
It’s two asteroids that have collided and stuck together many years ago, becoming what’s known as a contact binary.
—Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 2 Jan. 2019
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“Contact binary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contact%20binary. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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