The primary star is 10 solar masses, so the 1 year period orbit is much farther out. I forget the exact equation relating orbital period to the masses of the orbiting bodies, but think of it this way: if the sun were suddenly replaced by this giant, the earth would have to speed up to counteract the extra gravity or it would spiral in.
Some planets (and binary companions) may actually orbit within their primaries, but I suspect that simple friction would quickly put an end to these systems. I do know that many binary pairs (of roughly comparable masses) are actually touching each other and exchanging mass. They are called "contact binaries".
Actually, planets don't really orbit around stars, they both orbit around their common center of mass. But as a rule, stars are so much more massive than planets, the barycenter is actually inside the star. I do remember the equation for that;
for a planet of mass P and a star of mass S the star's orbital radius R(s) and planet's orbital radius R(p) are related by:
SR(p) = PR(s).
For two orbiting bodies of equal mass where P = S, then, R(p) = R(s) which is exactly what you'd expect.
Space/Science » in reply to Am I missing something?
Yep.
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- An exoplanet with a 1 year long orbit around a red giant!
