Polar Orbits Around Binary Stars

Abstract

Oks proposes the existence of a new class of stable planetary orbits around binary stars, in the shape of a helix on a conical surface whose axis of symmetry coincides with the interstellar axis. We show that this claim relies on the inappropriate use of an effective potential that is only applicable when the stars are held motionless, and that the existence of the torques required to maintain the proposed orbits would have been empirically detected in the motion of artificial satellites in high-inclination orbits.