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Is it Possible for a Binary Planet System to Sustain an Orbit Around a Single Star?

-- Jack | August 2, 2023

Question:

Hello, I am working on a science fiction series. I want to know if it is possible for a binary planet system to sustain an orbit around a single star. Thanks!

-- Jack

Answer:

Yes, though the formation process for such a system is rather difficult to construct, making such binary planet systems rare. The standard definition for a binary planet system is a system where the two planets in the binary have similar mass. Some have referred to the Pluto-Charon system in our own Solar System, with a mass ratio of about 0.122, a binary planet system, but strictly speaking it is far from it.

-- Jeff Mangum

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