help

What would seasons be like on a Tatooine-like planet?

-- Oliver | July 17, 2025

Question:

Hi there! I’m working on a fictional world and would love your insight.

In this world, there’s a planet called Nou’mond (Earth-like) that orbits a close binary star system. The two stars—named Eo’Sol (a sun) and Ne’tsu (not a sun, but of similar mass)—orbit each other closely, and Nou’mond orbits both stars together, not just one of them. Think of it like the planet is circling around the center of mass of the star pair.

I’m trying to figure out:

What would the seasons be like on a planet with this kind of orbit?

Would the planet experience unusual patterns of day and night, or possibly complex sunlight conditions due to the movement of both stars?

Any simple explanation or example of what might be happening on the surface throughout the year (like light shifts, temperature changes, or weird “sunrise/sunset” events) would be really helpful!

Thanks so much!

-- Oliver

Answer:

A Tatooine-like planet, or a planet that orbits a binary star system, would very likely orbit at a relatively large distance from the binary star system in order for the planet’s orbit to be stable. Since seasons on a planet result from the tilt of the planet’s rotational axis relative to its orbit around its host star(s), the planet’s rotational axis inclination would drive seasonal variations on this hypothetical Tatooine-like system. I believe that the light from the binary star system would be quite diminished, though, due to the larger orbital distance that the planet would be required to orbit at in order to remain stable.

-- Jeff Mangum

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