<p>I am trying to model a 3-star system with a planet. The three stars have the same mass. I have gotten the stars (Yellow, Pink, Blue) into a stable orbit. However, I am wondering if a &quot;free-floating&quot; planet can exist in this system. By &quot;free-floating,&quot; I mean a planet that does not orbit any star; it orbits the barycenter.</p>
<p>Currently, I only know of metastable orbits that work for a while, but then the planet crashes into a star or gets ejected. Here are my setups:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/pmZXL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pmZXL.png" alt="My attempt at this" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/YVnH7.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/YVnH7.png" alt="My other attempt" /></a></p>
<p>Is there such a system that satisfies these conditions? If yes, is there a real-life example that astronomers know of?</p>
<ul>
<li>There are 3 stars of the same mass.</li>
<li>There is a planet that orbits the barycenter of these three masses.</li>
<li>The planet is orbiting in a &quot;Hot Jupiter&quot; setup (the planet orbits close to the barycenter)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-05T18:25:01.590Z
Three stars of equal masses is a 3 body problem that doesn't have a stable solution.  I'm curious how long the orbits of the stars alone remain stable in your simulation?
AstroShannon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-05T18:42:10.577Z
There are a few peculiar solutions to the 3-body problem which are (meta)stable, e. g. by Euler and Lagrange. The general 3-body-problem or more bodies are not solvable analytically
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-05T19:02:37.837Z
These two examples are stable for all objects but the green one, as the green object is a planet. The planet needs a stable orbit, but the stars are fine.
WarpPrime
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T16:09:58.880Z
@fasterthan thought  Are the three stars simply color coded, or are they supposed to actually be different colors?  Three stars in the same system would almost certainly have the same ages and the same initial composition, and so if they have identical masses they should always have identical spectra and colors.  If there is a slight difference in their masses the smallest one could possibly still be bluish while the more massive two are already becoming red giants.
M. A. Golding
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T16:59:03.873Z
They are just color coded. Nothing to doo with the age.
WarpPrime
<planet><star-systems>
Is it possible to have a trinary star system with a planet that orbits their barycenter?
WarpPrime
# Is it possible to have a trinary star system with a planet that orbits their barycenter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-05)

I am trying to model a 3-star system with a planet. The three stars have the same mass. I have gotten the stars (Yellow, Pink, Blue) into a stable orbit. However, I am wondering if a "free-floating" planet can exist in this system. By "free-floating," I mean a planet that does not orbit any star; it orbits the barycenter.

Currently, I only know of metastable orbits that work for a while, but then the planet crashes into a star or gets ejected. Here are my setups:

[![My attempt at this](https://i.sstatic.net/pmZXL.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/pmZXL.png)

[![My other attempt](https://i.sstatic.net/YVnH7.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/YVnH7.png)

Is there such a system that satisfies these conditions? If yes, is there a real-life example that astronomers know of?

* There are 3 stars of the same mass.
* There is a planet that orbits the barycenter of these three masses.
* The planet is orbiting in a "Hot Jupiter" setup (the planet orbits close to the barycenter)

**Tags:** planet, star-systems
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Three stars of equal masses is a 3 body problem that doesn't have a stable solution.  I'm curious how long the orbits of the stars alone remain stable in your simulation?  
> **username_2**: There are a few peculiar solutions to the 3-body problem which are (meta)stable, e. g. by Euler and Lagrange. The general 3-body-problem or more bodies are not solvable analytically  
> **username_0**: These two examples are stable for all objects but the green one, as the green object is a planet. The planet needs a stable orbit, but the stars are fine.  
> **username_3**: @fasterthan thought  Are the three stars simply color coded, or are they supposed to actually be different colors?  Three stars in the same system would almost certainly have the same ages and the same initial composition, and so if they have identical masses they should always have identical spectra and colors.  If there is a slight difference in their masses the smallest one could possibly still be bluish while the more massive two are already becoming red giants.  
> **username_0**: They are just color coded. Nothing to doo with the age.  

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## 0 answers

