Two stars in a faraway part of the Milky Way are orbiting each other as a binary star system. By careful measurement we find out that they are separated by 1.7 AU. We also determine that
their orbital period is 594 Earth-days. The total mass of the two-object system is

1.85

Explanation: Estimate the total mass of a binary system is done by a reformulation of Kepler's Third Law, which states that the square of the period of a planet's orbit is proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis, i.e.:

where

a is semimajor axis in astronomical units (AU);

P is period measured in years;

is total mass of the two-stars system;

For the two stars faraway in the Milky Way:

1 year is equivalent of 365 days, so period in years:

P = 1.63 years

Calculating total mass:

1.85

The total mass of the two-object system is 1.85 mass units.

they start with the same

answer: the direction of the wind is expressed as the direction from which the wind is blowing. for example, easterly winds blow from east to west, while westerly winds blow from west to east.

explanation: