astronomy

TIC 168789840

TIC 168789840 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TIC 168789840 rather than just read about it. In short: TIC 168789840, also known as TYC 7037-89-1, is a stellar system with six stars. Three pairs of binary stars circle a common barycenter.

Key takeaways

TIC 168789840 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TIC 168789840 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TIC 168789840 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TIC 168789840, also known as TYC 7037-89-1, is a stellar system with six stars. Three pairs of binary stars circle a common barycenter. While other systems with three pairs of stars have been discovered, this was the first system where the stars can be observed eclipsing one another, as the Earth lies approximately on their planes of rotation.

Discovery

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite identified that the star system consisted of six eclipsing stars. The discovery was announced in January 2021. It is approximately 1,900 light-years (584 pc) from Earth, in the constellation Eridanus, west of the river asterism's sharpest bend, Upsilon2 Eridani, often called Theemin. To be seen the group needs strong magnification from Earth as is much fainter than red clump giant star Theemin and is about nine times further away.

Orbits

Two sets of the binaries co-orbit relatively closely, while the third pair of stars takes 2,000 years to orbit the entire system barycenter. The inner A pair and C pair orbit each other in 3.7 years. These are, as taken from the paired B stars, about 250 AU away (specifically the mean telescopic separation is 423 mas) and the three lettered pairs, as groups, have been resolved (the three gaps made out). From A pair to C pair is calculated to be 4 AU (∼7 mas) apart, which means this gap should be resolvable using speckle interferometry which has not yet been achieved. Note, the three binaries (here close pairs) A, B, and C are resolved only as systems, the pairs being just 6.9 R☉ (∼0.054 mas), 21.4 R☉ (∼0.168 mas), and 6.1 R☉ (∼0.047 mas) apart, respectively. According to Jeanette Kazmierczak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center:

Stellar characteristics The primary stars of all three close binaries are slightly hotter and brighter than the Sun, while the secondary stars are much cooler and dimmer. Because the two closely bound pairs are so close, only the third, more distant pair could have planets. The primaries are all beginning to evolve away from the main sequence, while the less massive and longer-lived secondaries are all still firmly on the main sequence and fusing hydrogen in their cores.

See also Castor (star) – the second-brightest (apparent) "star" in Gemini, likewise a (double-double)-double system

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TIC 168789840

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TIC 168789840 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TIC 168789840 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TIC 168789840 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TIC 168789840

In research: TIC 168789840 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TIC 168789840 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TIC 168789840 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 2021, Eclipsing binaries, Eridanus (constellation), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TIC 168789840 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TIC 168789840 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TIC 168789840 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TIC 168789840 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TIC 168789840 in simple terms?

TIC 168789840, also known as TYC 7037-89-1, is a stellar system with six stars. Three pairs of binary stars circle a common barycenter.

Why does TIC 168789840 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TIC 168789840?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TIC 168789840.