I ran across this article recently
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/this-record-breaking-quadruple- star-system-is-so-jam-packed-it-could-fit-between-jupiter-and-our-sun
about a quadruple star system in which all four stars would fit inside
the orbit of Jupiter around our own sun.ÿ They call it a 3+1 system,
where three stars orbit each other (inside the orbit of Mercury around
our own sun!), and the 4th star orbits the three from a little farther out.
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Tony
On 3/12/2026 1:49 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
I ran across this article recently
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/this-record-breaking-quadruple-
star-system-is-so-jam-packed-it-could-fit-between-jupiter-and-our-sun
about a quadruple star system in which all four stars would fit inside
the orbit of Jupiter around our own sun.ÿ They call it a 3+1 system,
where three stars orbit each other (inside the orbit of Mercury around
our own sun!), and the 4th star orbits the three from a little farther
out.
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Tony
"Death Wave (Star Quest Trilogy, 1)" by Ben Bova might fulfill this.
ÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/Death-Wave-Star-Quest-Trilogy/dp/1250783542
Lynn
In article <10ov1s1$26ige$1@dont-email.me>,
Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:
I ran across this article recently
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/this-record-breaking-quadruple-star-system-is-so-jam-packed-it-could-fit-between-jupiter-and-our-sun
about a quadruple star system in which all four stars would fit inside
the orbit of Jupiter around our own sun. They call it a 3+1 system,
where three stars orbit each other (inside the orbit of Mercury around
our own sun!), and the 4th star orbits the three from a little farther out. >>
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Tony
Lagash?
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Tony Nance wrote:
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Probably somewhere in _Perry Rhodan_ ...
Okay, so I googled for "Dreifachstern" (triple star) over Perrypedia.
There's actually a separate entry with links to some instances.
The only one that seems to fit the bill is Trio from the _Atlan_
spin-off series.
https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Trio
Let me quote the English version... provided by Google Translate
it seems...
| The Trio system is formed by three white, relatively closely
| spaced giant stars ( triple star ) and is located in the Fosterix
| Galaxy . The three stars are Cepheid variables with periods of
| 51.9, 64.7, and 66.2 days. ( Atlan 661 )
|
| The only planet, Torkler, orbits the sun once every 280 years.
| Due to the sun's fluctuations and its eccentric orbit, Torkler
| experiences alternating warm and cold periods of approximately 30
| years. The planet is inhabited by the Darmons .
Wait, what? Let that be a warning about the use of Google Translate.
In the German text, the planet orbits the suns (plural) and due to
the suns' (plural) fluctuations bla bla.
But presumably the singular sun is so dominant in Google Translate's
training data that it helpfully "corrects" the plural into the
singular here.
Let's try again with DeepL:
| The Trio System consists of three white giant suns (triple star)
| that are relatively close together and is located in the Fosterix
| galaxy. The three stars are Cepheids with periods of 51.9, 64.7,
| and 66.2 days. (Atlan 661)
|
| The only planet, Torkler, orbits the suns once every 280 years.
| Due to the fluctuations of the suns and its eccentric orbit,
| Torkler experiences alternating periods of warmth and cold lasting
| approximately 30 years. The planet is inhabited by the Darmons.
On 2026-03-12, Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:
Anyhow, I am wondering: are there densely packed star systems in SF?
Say, three stars or more? Quadruple bonus if any of them are inhabited!
Probably somewhere in _Perry Rhodan_ ...
Okay, so I googled for "Dreifachstern" (triple star) over Perrypedia.
There's actually a separate entry with links to some instances.
The only one that seems to fit the bill is Trio from the _Atlan_
spin-off series.
https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Trio
Let me quote the English version... provided by Google Translate
it seems...
| The Trio system is formed by three white, relatively closely
| spaced giant stars ( triple star ) and is located in the Fosterix
| Galaxy . The three stars are Cepheid variables with periods of
| 51.9, 64.7, and 66.2 days. ( Atlan 661 )
|
| The only planet, Torkler, orbits the sun once every 280 years.
| Due to the sun's fluctuations and its eccentric orbit, Torkler
| experiences alternating warm and cold periods of approximately 30
| years. The planet is inhabited by the Darmons .
Wait, what? Let that be a warning about the use of Google Translate.
In the German text, the planet orbits the suns (plural) and due to
the suns' (plural) fluctuations bla bla.
But presumably the singular sun is so dominant in Google Translate's
training data that it helpfully "corrects" the plural into the
singular here.
Let's try again with DeepL:
| The Trio System consists of three white giant suns (triple star)
| that are relatively close together and is located in the Fosterix
| galaxy. The three stars are Cepheids with periods of 51.9, 64.7,
| and 66.2 days. (Atlan 661)
|
| The only planet, Torkler, orbits the suns once every 280 years.
| Due to the fluctuations of the suns and its eccentric orbit,
| Torkler experiences alternating periods of warmth and cold lasting
| approximately 30 years. The planet is inhabited by the Darmons.
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