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The stars in HM Cancri, the smallest known binary system, revolve around each other in just 5.4 minutes—the shortest known orbital period for any binary. Observations by an international team of astronomers recently confirmed the duration of the orbit.

The system, which consists of two white dwarfs, is no larger than 8 times the diameter of the Earth—or the equivalent of no more than a quarter of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The two stars contain a highly condensed form of helium, carbon, and oxygen.

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Photo credit: University of Warwick