History Main / BinarySuns

* The Alfa Centauri (Rigil Kentaurus) system, consisting of two yellow dwarfs, A and B. B is the somewhat smaller member of the duo.
** And countless other star systems in our Galaxy.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_Centauri Proxima Centauri]] is believed to orbiting Alpha A and B, which would make this a ''Trinary'' Sun for any planet around. Reality is unrealistic.

* {{Helliconia}} is set in a binary system, with the titular planet orbiting a dim sun called Batalix and both Helliconia and Batalix orbiting a larger blue giant star called Freyr.

* In GalaxyRangers, the planet Granna is like this.
* An early episode of {{Futurama}} had the characters delivering a package to Trisol, a planet [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with three suns]].
* {{Visionaries}} has a ''three'' suns and their alignment is what triggers a new age of magic.

* Oz (Excuse me, "Outer Zone") in {{Series/Tin Man}} has dual suns and several moons.

* ''{{Angel}}'': The two suns in Pylea.
* In an episode of ''SesameStreet'', Elmo read to María a story he wrote and illustrated about an imagined trip to a planet with two suns in its sky.
* ''[=~2010: The Year We Make Contact~=]'': After [[spoiler:Jupiter]] is turned into a sun.
* Planet Namek in ''DragonBall'' has '''three''' suns, and perpetual daytime because at least one of them is always in the sky at any given time.
* Irdya, the world of ''TheBattleForWesnoth'', originally has only one sun, but another is raised to banish the darkness. [[spoiler: AndManGrewProud and attempted to raise a third sun, transforming the known world into a wasteland when it crashes down.]] Hence, the campaign taking place AfterTheEnd is called "Under the Burning Suns" and the new day/night cycle becomes an important game mechanic.
* {{Visionaries}} has a ''three'' suns and their alignment is what triggers a new age of magic.

* The Ranadon star system in Jennifer Fallon's ''Second Sons'' Trilogy concerns two suns, one a big red one seen at night, and the other a little yellow one during the day, as seen from the planet Ranadon. Every so often the red sun goes wandering, causing the 'Age of Shadows'.

* A ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode called "Night Terrors" is set in a binary system.

* IsaacAsimov's ''Nightfall'' takes place on a world with ''six'' suns. The novel focuses on the effects that a long period of darkness would have on a species accustomed to unending day.
** This may also count as a rare YouFailAstronomyForever moment for Asimov, since even multiple suns have to be relatively close together as seen from the planet that orbits them, and could not shine on opposite sides of the planet simultaneously.

* {{Helliconia}} is set in a binary system, with the titular planet orbiting a dim sun called Batalix and both Helliconia and Batalix orbiting a larger blue giant star called Freyr.

** These may actually be more realistic since current models suggest that telluric (rocky) planets can't form stable orbits in a binary system where the two stars are close enough to form a traditional two suns situation.
* An early episode of {{Futurama}} had the characters delivering a package to Trisol, a planet [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with three suns]].
* Norfolk in Peter F. Hamilton's ''Night's Dawn'' Trilogy orbits the primary star of a binary system, lending a unique system involving "Duke day" (full white sunlight from the primary, Duke), "Duchess night" (red sunlight from the secondary, Duchess) and true night for the portions hidden from both stars. Duke day lasts for the same time all the time (at least at the equator), but Duchess night and true night pass between complete Duchess night and complete true night depending on the planet's position around its orbit.

[AC:RealLife]

Examples:

* An early episode of {{Futurama}} had the characters delivering a package to Trisol, a planet [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with three suns]].

There are two realistic possibilities for this arrangement: The two suns may rise and fall with each other, indicating that the suns orbit each other closely and the planet orbits both of them, or might occupy different parts of the sky, indicating suns a sun that orbits farther out than the planet, and possibly leading to an "endless day" situation.

A trope where a planet has two suns in the sky. Occurs primarly in sci-fi settings, but certainly isn't limited to it. The two suns may rise and fall with each other, or might occupy different parts of the sky, leading to an "endless day" situation.

Their prevalence in science fiction is actually an example of RealityIsUnrealistic, because binary stars are in fact much more common than single stars like our Sun.

* ''StarWars'' is arguably the most recognized example, due to the [[ANewHope iconic double-sunset]] on Tattoine.

* A StarTrekTheNextGeneration episode called "Night Terrors" is set in a binary system.
* [=~2010: The Year We Make Contact~=]: After [[spoiler:Jupiter]] is turned into a sun.

* Planet Namek in ''DragonBall'' has three suns, and perpetual daytime because at least one of them is always in the sky at any given time.
* {{Helliconia}} is set in a Binary system, with the titular planet orbiting a dim sun called Batalix and both Helliconia and Batalix orbiting a larger blue giant star called Freyr.
* Irdya, the world of TheBattleForWesnoth, originally has only one sun, but another is raised to banish the darkness. [[spoiler: AndManGrewProud and attempted to raise a third, transforming the known world into a wasteland when it crashes down.]] Hence, the campaign taking place AfterTheEnd is called "Under the Burning Suns" and the new day/night cycle becomes an important game mechanic.

* Some [[YouFailAstronomyForever pseudoscientific theories suggest]] that our RealLife solar system may be a binary system. Of course, the other sun would have to be a Brown Dwarf or an extremely dim Red Dwarf.

A trope where a planet has two suns in the sky. Occurs primarly in sci-fi settings, but certainly isn't limited to it.

A subtrope of AlienSky. Can fall into YouFailAstronomyForever if done badly.

A trope occurring primarly in sci-fi settings, where a planet has two suns in the sky.

* StarWars is arguably the most recognized example, due to the [[ANewHope iconic double-sunset]] on Tattoine.
* The Ranadon star system in Jennifer Fallon's ''Second Sons'' Trilogy. Two suns, one a big red one seen at night, and the other a little yellow one during the day, as seen from the planet Ranadon. Every so often the red sun goes wandering, causing the 'Age of Shadows'.
* {{Angel}}: The two suns in Pylea.
* Some [[YouFailAstronomyForever pseudoscientific theories suggest]] that our RealLife solar system may be a binary system -- of course, the other sun would have to be a Brown Dwarf or an extremely dim Red Dwarf.

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