Indian scientists discover 28 new Milky Way stars 30/07/2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: , ,

INDIAN SCIENTISTS DISCOVER 28 NEW MILKY WAY STARS

 

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: About the finding of new stars, Variable Stars, Halo of a Galaxy, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)


 

News Flash

A team of scientists at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital has identified 28 new variable stars.

  • These stars found in the halo or outer part of the Milky Way galaxy.
  • Which is nearly 60,000 light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, visible in the northern night sky.
  • Studying stars in this area helps scientists to figure out the evolutionary history of the Milky Way.

Background

The first successful Indian optical observation of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst was carried out from ARIES in 1999.

 

Variable Stars

  • Variable stars are stars that change brightness as seen from earth.
  • This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light.
  • Two types: Intrinsic variables and Extrinsic variables.
  • Intrinsic variables, whose luminosity actually changes.
  • Extrinsic variables, whose apparent changes in brightness are due to changes in the amount of their light that can reach Earth.

 

Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT)

  • It is a powerful 3.6-meter optical telescope.
  • This telescope is used by scientists to conduct photometric observation to discover the stars.
  • The DOT telescope has made it possible to study the magnetic field structure of stars and the evolution of the Milky Way.
  • The telescope also plays a vital role in the search for extrasolar planets and stars in the outer region and the halo of the Milky Way.

Halo of a Galaxy

  • The halo of a galaxy is a nearly spherical region surrounding the galaxy like diffuse light when seen from a distance.
  • Only about 1% of a galaxy’s mass resides in its halo area.
  • It is coupled with low brightness.
  • The observation of stars in halos is very difficult.

 

Where new stars found?

  • The stars were found in the globular cluster NGC 4147.
  • A globular cluster is a large but compact cluster of stars around a galactic core and is spherical in shape.
  • Typically a globular cluster has very old stars.

 

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)

  • ARIES is one of the leading research Institutes which specializes in observational Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences.
  • The main research interests of Astronomy & Astrophysics division are in solar, planetary, stellar, galactic and extra-galactic astronomy including stellar variabilities, X-ray binaries, star clusters, nearby galaxies, quasars, and inherently transient events like supernovae and highly energetic gamma-ray bursts.
  • It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

 

Source: Hindustan Times

 

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