Author Question: Explain how some stars form in binary systems. What will be an ideal ... (Read 55 times)

folubunmi · **on:** Jul 27, 2018

Explain how some stars form in binary systems.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Why is the era of nucleosynthesis so important in determining the chemical composition of the universe?

What will be an ideal response?

14vl19 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 27, 2018

Answer to Question 1

As a molecular cloud contracts, it breaks up into fragments and can form many protostars. Gravity can pull two neighboring protostars closer together but conservation of angular momentum prevents them from directly crashing into each other and instead they can end up orbiting each other as a binary.

Answer to Question 2

The era of nucleosynthesis is important because during this time, all the primordial hydrogen and helium was created by nuclear fusion. Except for the few percent of matter that stars later fused into heavier elements, the chemical composition set in the nucleosynthesis era remains unchanged today.