Astronomers solve decades-long mystery of the 'lonely old stars'

Many, perhaps most, stars in the Universe live their lives with companions by their sides - in so-called binary systems. Until recently, however, the ancient RR Lyrae stars appeared, for mysterious reasons, to live their lives all alone. A recent study led by Chilean astronomers shows that RR Lyrae stars may not be as lonely as previously thought. The new research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.