Observations presented in a detailed study using the ALMA radio observatory found four binary proto-stars, one triple, one quadruple and one quintuple system in one massive star cluster. This results, which have been published in Nature Astronomy (Li, S., Sanhueza, P., Beuther, H. et al. Observations of high-order multiplicity in a high-mass stellar protocluster. Nat Astron (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02181-9), confirm our current understanding of the formation of massive stars: such stars are indeed born as multiples. Read here the MPIA press release.
Image: © S. Li, MPIA / J. Neidel, MPIA Graphics Department / Data: ALMA Observatory; False-color image of the massive star formation region G333.23–0.06 from data obtained with the ALMA radio observatory. The insets show regions in which Li et al. were able to detect multiple systems of protostars. The star symbols indicate the location of each newly forming stars. The image covers a region 0.62 by 0.78 light-years in size (which on the sky covers a mere 7.5 times 9.5 arc seconds).