Star Systems
Gravitational Mechanics & System Configurations
Single Star
Stellar Zones & Planetary Orbits
The simplest system configuration. A lone star with a defined habitable zone, snow line, and orbiting bodies at varying distances.
Binary Pair
Two Stars, One Barycenter
Two stars locked in mutual orbit around a shared center of mass. The most common multi-star configuration, with complex overlapping habitable zones.
Hierarchical Triple
Binary Pair + Distant Companion
A stable three-star configuration where a tight inner binary is orbited by a third, more distant star. Long-term stability requires a large separation ratio.
Circumbinary Planet
P-Type Orbit Around a Binary Pair
A planet orbiting both stars in a binary system from the outside. Must clear the chaotic forbidden zone before settling into a stable P-type orbit.
Quadruple System
Two Binaries Orbiting a Common Barycentre
Hierarchical four-star systems — two tight binary pairs co-orbiting a system-wide barycentre. The Mizar archetype, requiring strong separation hierarchy for stability.
Open Cluster
Stellar Nurseries & Co-Moving Groups
Hundreds to thousands of stars born from the same molecular cloud, weakly bound and slowly dispersing. Pleiades, Hyades, and the embedded clusters of stellar formation.
This module looks at star systems as gravitational architectures: single stars, binaries, nested hierarchies, clusters, and planets that survive around more than one primary.
The cards focus on why some arrangements remain stable for billions of years while others become chaotic, ejected, or short-lived.