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Binary stars are common - approximately half of all stars are members
of a binary.
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Binary stars provide the only means of determining accurate
stellar masses. Without such information, we would not be able to
test theories of stellar formation, structure and evolution.
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Evolution within a binary star results in some of the most exotic
inhabitants of our Galaxy, such as the Type I supernovae, novae,
X-ray binaries, black hole binaries, binary pulsars, and even some of
the gamma-ray bursters.
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Binary stars provide a unique laboratory for the study of matter under
extreme physical conditions, pushing modern theories of physics, such
as Quantum Mechanics and Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, to the
limits of their predictive powers.
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