In January 2021 researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the SETI Institute in the USA announced the discovery of a six-star system (Figure 1), about 1428 light years from Earth in the constellation of Eridanus. The six stars move in close orbits around one another, each eclipsing its partner to produce a dip in the total light observed (Figure 2).
Binary and triple star systems are common, but larger groupings are rare. The discovery was made using machine learning (also called artificial intelligence, AI) to analyse huge datasets produced by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, and marked a step forward in the use of AI in astronomy. Astronomers expect detailed analysis of the six-star system to reveal further information about its stars and help develop our understanding of how stars and planetary systems form.
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