Editing Binary star (section)

===Formation===
While it is not impossible that some binaries might be created through [[gravitational capture]] between two single stars, given the very low likelihood of such an event (three objects being actually required, as [[conservation of energy]] rules out a single gravitating body capturing another) and the high number of binaries currently in existence, this cannot be the primary formation process. The observation of binaries consisting of stars not yet on the [[main sequence]] supports the theory that binaries develop during [[star formation]]. Fragmentation of the [[molecular cloud]] during the formation of [[protostar]]s is an acceptable explanation for the formation of a binary or multiple star system.<ref>{{cite book | first = A. P. | last = Boss | chapter = Formation of Binary Stars | title = The Realm of Interacting Binary Stars | editor = J. Sahade | editor2 = G. E. McCluskey | editor3 = Yoji Kondo | date = 1992 | page = 355 | isbn = 978-0-7923-1675-6 | publisher = Kluwer Academic | location = Dordrecht}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.phys.lsu.edu/astro/nap98/bf.final.html | title = The Formation of Common-Envelope, Pre-Main-Sequence Binary Stars | first = J. E. | last = Tohline | author-link = Joel E. Tohline | author2 = J. E. Cazes | author3 = H. S. Cohl | publisher = Louisiana State University | access-date = 2006-06-25 | archive-date = 2016-06-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160604021623/http://www.phys.lsu.edu/astro/nap98/bf.final.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The outcome of the [[three-body problem]], in which the three stars are of comparable mass, is that eventually one of the three stars will be ejected from the system and, assuming no significant further perturbations, the remaining two will form a stable binary system.