Planet at the center of mass of a binary star system

AI Thread Summary
A planet cannot stably exist at the center of mass in a binary star system due to gravitational instability, as it would be positioned at a Lagrangian point where it would drift and likely fall toward one of the stars. The discussion highlights the challenges of habitable conditions in such a scenario, particularly the absence of night and the potential for moons. The original poster expressed uncertainty about the feasibility of such a planet for a story setting and acknowledged a lack of deep physics knowledge. The conversation was redirected to emphasize the need for clarity in discussing fictional settings versus technical questions. Overall, the consensus is that a stable, habitable planet at the center of mass in a binary star system is unlikely.
John Fluharty
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I can't think of an instance of this in science fiction, but then I do not have the broadest knowledge of the field, so I could have missed something obvious to everyone else. I wonder, though, could a planet form at the center of mass of a binary star system or be captured there, and could this planet be habitable if everything was positioned just right? There would be no night of course and the two stars would appear to orbit around the planet. Could this planet have a moon? My knowledge of physics is not very deep, either, so I am not really sure of what other issues being at that position would cause.
 
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The science fiction forums are for discussing existing fiction or for getting advice when writing. Your question is best suited elsewhere so I have moved it. Please review the SF&F forum rules: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/science-fiction-and-fantasy-forum-rules.680313/

With regards to your question I'm pretty sure the answer is no. The planet would be placed in a Lagrangian point but nothing would hold it there. It would naturally drift (perhaps disturbed by the orbits of other planets) before falling towards one of the stars.
 
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I really don't understand why my question did not fit but I am sorry about the mistake. I was just asking because I don't want to set a story on such a world if one is not likely to exist in the real universe and I was uncertain of the answer to the question. I do have a basic understanding of what Lagrangian points are, though, and should have thought if that myself. Thanks.
 
Happy to help. If you had stated that you were interested in writing a story and this was part of the setting you needed help with then it would have been acceptable for the science fiction writing subforum. As it stands this wasn't clear and it seemed like you just had a question suitable to a technical forum.
 
Several off-topic posts and their responses have been deleted. Please stay on topic.
 

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