The Committee to Nuke Elysium

Binary systems comprise two stars that orbit closely around one another.

The erratic behaviour of these twin suns can fling orbiting planets into devastating head-on collisions.

In the new study, the pulverised remains of former worlds have been spotted around four different binary stars using Nasa’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

The double stars that are the subject of present attention orbit only 3.2 million km apart (two million miles). This is a mere 2% of the distance between the Earth and our own Sun.

As they twirl around one another every few days, their powerful magnetic fields cause them to move closer together. This results in gravitational changes that disrupt the trajectory of orbiting planets.

These changes can send planets smashing into one another.