Multiple Star - Trapezia

A second known class of multiple stars consists of the young trapezia, named after the multiple star known as the Trapezium in the heart of the Orion Nebula. Such systems are not rare, and commonly appear close to or within bright nebulae. These stars have no standard hierarchical arrangements, but compete for stable orbits, where the center of gravity is not fixed at some point but moves as the stars change their mutual positions. This relationship is called interplay. Such stars eventually settle down to a close binary with a distant companion, with the other star(s) previously in the system ejected into interstellar space at high velocities. Example of such events may explain the runaway stars that might have been ejected during a collision of two binary star groups or a multiple system. This event is credited with ejecting AE Aurigae, Mu Columbae and 53 Arietis at above 200 km·s−1 and has been traced to the Trapezium cluster in the Orion Nebula some two million years ago.