What is the 3 body problem?
Its estimated that around 10 percent of all star systems have three stars, according toNASA.
Having a third object in there, however, throws things off.
The sci-fi series portrays a fictional alien civilization on a planet that flips between stable and chaotic eras.Image: Netflix
The three stars start acting funny, interacting with one another in unpredictable ways.
What does a triple-star system look like?
Alpha Centauri A and B form a binary system, closely orbiting each other in a roughly 80-year cycle.
Artist’s impression of a planet belonging to a tri-star system.Image: ESO/L. Calçada
The paper was eventuallyretractedbecause the object initially identified as a planet turned out to be a fast-moving background star.
In its fictional orbit among the three stars, the San-Tis planet goes through periods of chaos and stability.
Could life exist on the San-Ti planet?
The Alpha Centauri triple star system, shown here, served as a model for the show’s fictional tri-star system.Image: NASA/Chandra
Its unlikely that Earth-like life could develop the resilience needed to survive a temperature spike of 200 degrees overnight.
Evolutionarily speaking, that would just wipe out a species that developed, Kenzie said.
In theory, the chaotic orbit would create an atmosphere that is unsuitable for complex organisms to thrive.
The series, however, doesnt bother itself with the details.
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