# Multiple star

Also called: triple star, double-double, Trapezium.

Three or more stars bound together or appearing together — like Epsilon Lyrae, the “Double Double”.

Many stars come in families. Epsilon Lyrae is two pairs: binoculars split the wide pair, and a telescope at about 150× splits each of those again. The Trapezium at the heart of the Orion Nebula is four young stars (six, with steady air and a larger telescope) lighting the gas around them. Castor in Gemini is six stars, three pairs, though a telescope shows three.

**Examples:** [epsilon-lyrae](https://astropilot.space/object/epsilon-lyrae.md), [trapezium](https://astropilot.space/object/trapezium.md), [castor](https://astropilot.space/object/castor.md), [mizar](https://astropilot.space/object/mizar.md)

**Related:** [Double star](https://astropilot.space/glossary/double-star.md), [Separation](https://astropilot.space/glossary/separation.md), [Resolution](https://astropilot.space/glossary/resolution.md)

From the AstroPilot astronomy glossary: https://astropilot.space/glossary/multiple-star