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Author Topic: Problems with orbits  (Read 2190 times)

MD2903

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Problems with orbits
« on: August 31, 2016, 09:59:31 AM »
Hello,

Lately I have been trying to recreate some existing multiple star systems. This involves working a lot with orbits, like eccentricity and inclination. I have ran into two problems while working with orbits.

1. A binary star consists of two stars orbiting eachother. In this simulator, you place the primary star and place the companion star in binary next to it. Then they will be a binary system and orbit eachother. However I am not able to change the orbit of the companion star. So I can't change the orbital period and inclination for example.

If I place a planet as companion in the binary system, instead of the companion star, and increase mass and radius so it becomes a star, I am able to to change statistics of the orbit.

So I guess you can't change the orbit of objects classified as stars, but you can when they are classified as planets.

2. Let's say I have binary system A, composed of star A1 and star A2. Also I have binary system B, composed of star B1 and star B2. I want to make binary system A and B orbit eachother, so you get a quadruple star system.

To make this I need barycenters. It is possible to make barycenters and you can make objects orbit barycenters too. However it is not (yet?) possible to make barycenters orbit eachother, which is crucial for quadruple systems. Or maybe I just don't know how to make them orbit eachother.

Maybe someone knows how I can make two barycenters orbit eachother. If it isn't possible, maybe it is an idea to implement in the future.

The problem about not being able to change the orbit of stars could be on purpose, or a bug. Maybe this is also something you may want to change in future updates.

Any more info on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day.

JMBuilder

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Re: Problems with orbits
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2016, 07:42:40 PM »
I have the same issues with trying to make more eccentric binary systems and making barycenters orbit each other. The closest I've gotten to an eccentric binary is increasing or decreasing the mass of one or both stars, throwing off the orbit a bit.