A Srami cast, episode 571, extreme binaries.

Welcome to Srami cast, a weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos, where we help

you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know.

I'm Fraser Kane, publisher of Universe today, with me as always, Dr. Pamela Gay, a senior

scientist for the Planetary Science Institute and the Director of Cosmic Quest.

Hey Pamela, how are you doing?

I'm doing well. It is finally spring as in. I can go play in the garden.

How are you doing up there in Vancouver?

Island.

The Grand Island. Yeah, things are great. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and same thing.

I have been out in the garden the only downside. The robins get up at like four in the morning

and they're, you know, they're breeding at this point. So they're just like chirp, chirp, chirp.

And so I have one that there's found the, he really likes the acoustics right outside my room.

And so I've been getting up at like four in the morning and then I have to go and I, you know,

I get up and I have to close the window and then I try to get back to sleep and then I can get

back to sleep until yeah, I've been, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep because this Robin has been

singing his little heart out every morning, really loud right outside my window. So hopefully

he'll find a girlfriend and get lost. But until then, yeah, it's pretty funny. But the spring,

I mean, he can't, you can't go wrong. That is awesome. Yeah, absolutely. So we're familiar with

regular binary stars, two stars, orbiting each other. Simple. Of course, the universe has come

up with every combination of things orbiting other things. And this week we look at some extreme

examples Art Pamela. So let's just figure this out. What is a binary star? So a binary star is

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