Double stars with naked eye

[astrostu]

So what I mean is when I look up in to the sky some stars look quite close and I wonder if they could be bound by gravitational forces of each other? How far are binarys appart? could we see a system tht the stars tht are gravity bound appear split already to.the naked eye...? Does anyone know what I'm trying to say?

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[JamesF]

Not all doubles are gravitationally bound and of those that are the distances vary considerably. However, there is a story I think that to be either a soldier or an archer in one of the ancient armies you were supposed to be able to see one star as a double or something like that. Mizar and Alcor, perhaps?

James

[Josh Wilson]

Mizar and Alcor appear as a double star to the naked eye, but they are not a true binary system. A telescope will reveal that Mizar has a companion star that revolve around each other in a few thousand years. Mizar A and B both have even closer companion stars to close to resolve in even a large telescope. Mizar A's companion star revolves around Mizar in about 20 days and Mizar B's companion star revolves around Mizar B in about 6 months

Many double stars visible with the naked eye aren't true doubles and a simple pair of binoculars can resolve many stars into close and true binaries. In reality, binary systems can be anywhere from a few AU's to hundreds of light years apart from each other and revolve around each other in a few days to about 100,000 years.