Planets may form more easily around pairs of stars than around single stars like the sun, according to new research. Binary star systems , in which two stars orbit each other, are common throughout the Milky Way — and, in fact, even our sun may not have always been alone . For decades, astronomers believed such multi-star systems were hostile environments for planet formation, with competing gravitational forces stirring up surrounding material and preventing planets from taking shape. "Close to a binary star it's simply too violent for planets to form," study lead author Matthew Teasdale of the University of Lancashire said in a statement . "But move farther out and the disk becomes an ideal environment for planet formation." Using computer simulations, Teasdale and his team modeled the swirling disks of gas and dust that surround young binary stars — the birthplaces of planets — called protoplanetary disks .…