When Earth Coalesced, Was There Nemesis? Interesting Research Revisited #astronomy #galaxy #stars #poet #poetry #science

 

Sol,

[image error]

Binary stars are seldom identical

A main sequence star

Out in a spiral arm,

Light from your nearest brethren

Falls dimly in your realm.

Bits of rock,

Scraps of gas,

Hydrogen and stone,

Remnants of your origin,

But otherwise

Alone.

It seems that in

Your early phase,

Four billion years ago,

You would have spun a coiling dance

With a twin aglow.

Half such pairs,

Such triples,

More,

Cling and orbit tight,

But others,

Looping, twisting far,

Are lost into the night.

Where does your mate,

Your other half,

reside?

That none can say.

Your splendid self looks down on Earth

The only star

That lights our day.

by Kate Rauner

About 40% of stars have stellar partners, so being alone is not unusual.

[image error]

2nd edition now available! Expanded!

But recent studies indicate that all stars may have been born with companions. Sol’s may have been paired once, but the fancifully named Nemesis is far away, if it ever existed, “out there mingling with other stars in the region of the Milky Way Galaxy we call home.” newsledge

Don’t feel sorry for our Sun. Only you and I can feel loneliness.

Visit my blog for a new science inspired poem, every other post or so. Or read one of my collections – available as ebooks on all the favorite on-line outlets or paperbacks at Create Space and Amazon.

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: astronomy, binary stars, poem, rhyming poetry, Sarah Sadavoy, stellar nursery, Steven Stahler UC Berkeley