multiple star

The latest discovery suggests that planets in quadruple star systems might be less rare than once thought.

At magnitude 2.9, O Scorpii is actually a quadruple star with the primary being a Beta Cepheid variable, a bright blue-white B-type giant.

Astronomers have taken a behind-the-scenes look at a set of dense gas clumps, catching a quadruple star system in the fleeting act of formation.

It's a widely separated pair of tight doubles forming a quadruple star system overall.

Nearly a century ago William Tyler Olcott wrote in his classic Field Book of the Skies, "Nu Scorpii is said to be the most beautiful quadruple star in the sky." Indeed, viewing it in a 13-inch refractor at 180x, I rated it just that.

Each of the two components is splittable again in a telescope at 100 power or more on a night of good seeing, making this a quadruple star.

The wide-field image on the facing page, taken with the 4-meter telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, shows the nebula's familiar bright heart, centered on the Trapezium quadruple star so well known to backyard telescope users.

A Midyear Galaxy Hunt Object Type Magnitude 67 UMa Quadruple star 5.2, 6.6, 8.3, 8.9 NGC 4111 Edge-on lenticular galaxy 10.7 h2596 Double star 8.2, 11.6 NGC 4117 Edge-on lenticular galaxy 13.0 NGC 4143 Barred lenticular galaxy 10.7 NGC 4138 Lenticular galaxy 11.3 NGC 4183 Flat edge-on spiral galaxy 12.3 NGC 4244 Flat edge-on spiral galaxy 10.4 NGC 4214 Magellanic irregular galaxy 9.8 Upgren 1 Asterism 6.2 NGC 4631 Barred (?) edge-on spiral 9.2 NGC 4656 Peculiar edge-on spiral 10.5 NGC 4627 Peculiar elliptical galaxy 12.4 Object Type Size/Sep.

Just east of Graffias lies the amazing Nu ([nu]) Scorpii, which some regard as the most beautiful quadruple star in the sky.