Double Gas Giants

[Spaceception]

I have a (Weird) question, are Double Gas giants possible? If so, how likely are they? And could they have any sort of Moons?

Edited January 25, 2016 by Spaceception

[Shpaget]

Well, there are binary stars, which are mostly gas.

Stars occasionally have planets orbiting them.

Pluto has Charon and those two have their moons.

So, sure there could be binary gas giants.

[Benoit Hage]

I don't know about the binary gas giant, but I think their moons (if possible) would act like the moons of Pluto. Charon and Pluto act as binaries. They form a center of gravity outside their core.

Pics

Edited January 24, 2016 by Benoit Hage
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[KSK]

A slightly odd answer perhaps but they're quite common in Elite: Dangerous. The reason I mention that is because it's a game set in a simulated Milky Way but a simulation that's built on actual astronomical data where available and with individual star systems generated through a pretty detailed process based on our current best understanding of planetary formation.

So, I would say yes they are, according to our current understanding. I'm not aware of any that we've actually observed though.

Edited January 24, 2016 by KSK

[Guest]

Anything that can have something orbit around it can be in a binary system.  It's pretty simple.  Granted, things do need to work out perfectly for it to happen, but it is still very possible.

[legoclone09]

What about two spaceships orbiting each other? That would be cool.

[Spaceception]

2 minutes ago, legoclone09 said:

What about two spaceships orbiting each other? That would be cool.

If they were big enough, I could see that.

[Exploro]

I'm willing to wager it is possible. But gravitational interactions from other planets and the parent star may over time cause the binary pair to separate. Meaning it likely would not be a stable condition.

[K^2]

Binary is a term for stars. The corresponding term for planets is Double Planet. Otherwise, yeah, there is no reason these wouldn't exist.

[fredinno]

5 hours ago, Spaceception said:

I have a (Weird) question, are Double Gas giants possible? If so, how likely are they? And could they have any sort of Moons?

Binary planets of any sort are usually pretty difficult to get, due to the fact that they have to form or be captured in a way that they don't just merge, and with relatively little space between one another, but it's not impossible. 

2 hours ago, Exploro said:

I'm willing to wager it is possible. But gravitational interactions from other planets and the parent star may over time cause the binary pair to separate. Meaning it likely would not be a stable condition.

Gas giants are pretty big, if gravitational interactions happen, it would sling out the secondary trying to pull it around, not the primary set of gas giants trying to stay together.

5 hours ago, Spaceception said:

I have a (Weird) question, are Double Gas giants possible? If so, how likely are they? And could they have any sort of Moons?

Also, Spaceception, I know what you're trying to do with this. Just a heads up, I'm probably not going to allow this- we already have a double planet system.

Just saying.

[magnemoe]

8 hours ago, fredinno said:

Binary planets of any sort are usually pretty difficult to get, due to the fact that they have to form or be captured in a way that they don't just merge, and with relatively little space between one another, but it's not impossible. 

Gas giants are pretty big, if gravitational interactions happen, it would sling out the secondary trying to pull it around, not the primary set of gas giants trying to stay together.

Also, Spaceception, I know what you're trying to do with this. Just a heads up, I'm probably not going to allow this- we already have a double planet system.

Just saying.

We have Pluto, we also have earth / moon who almost qualifies. 
Not sure if it would show up on exoplanet data. 
 

[FungusForge]

11 hours ago, Spaceception said:

If they were big enough, I could see that.

With no other forces to act on them I figure even the smallest objects should be able to orbit one another. So maybe if they were between galaxies or something we could see something like two Gemini capsules, or a pair of teapots orbiting each other.

[Spaceception]

10 hours ago, fredinno said:

Also, Spaceception, I know what you're trying to do with this. Just a heads up, I'm probably not going to allow this- we already have a double planet system.

Just saying.

Actually, I wasn't, I just thought of the question when I was looking at Space Engine screenshots for my desktop background

[fredinno]

7 hours ago, magnemoe said:

We have Pluto, we also have earth / moon who almost qualifies. 
Not sure if it would show up on exoplanet data. 
 

Dwarf Planets are more common than planets, so it's more likely one would be binary in the solar system.