2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Devasthal Optical Telescope, Halo of a Galaxy

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)

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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