Blogs about stars
An article accepted for publication in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports the results of observations of structures that are lasting longer than predicted in the atmosphere of the star Betelgeuse. A team of researchers used the ALMA radio telescope to obtain some of the most detailed views of Betelgeuse’s surface ever obtained. This allowed them to study its really uneven surface and the structures within its atmosphere.
The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has released the largest 2D map of the universe. Consisting of 5.6 trillion pixels, this map includes nearly 4 billion celestial objects, ranging from asteroids to galaxies, as well as other objects such as stars, black holes, and more. It’s a vast archive spanning approximately three-quarters of the sky, useful for astronomical studies requiring information at optical and near-infrared frequencies. This result isn’t the final one, as the map will be used to determine the distances to objects such as quasars to construct a new map, this time 3D.
An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” offers the best evidence yet for the existence of a companion to the star Betelgeuse. A team of researchers led by Miguel Montargès of the Paris Observatory – PSL used the SPHERE instrument, and specifically its ZIMPOL polarimeter, mounted on the VLT in Chile to capture a direct image of what appears to be a star close to Betelgeuse. Independent observations will be needed to confirm the existence of the candidate Betelgeuse B. This study suggests it’s a star with a mass between 2.6 and 3.1 times the Sun’s.
An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the results of a study of dust generated by red giant stars towards the end of their lives under conditions similar to those existing in the first galaxies of the universe. A team of researchers led by Claudio Gavetti of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics and the University of Roma Tre used observations conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope to study the Sextans A dwarf galaxy, where the environment is very metal-poor. Observations of a quality unimaginable in the past allowed to understand how these stars produce cosmic dust in environments similar to those of the early universe.
An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the results of a study that has identified an important part of the planetary formation process. A team of researchers led by Indrani Das of the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) has discovered a transition zone where gas becomes a part of a planet-forming disk using the ALMA radio telescope. This zone was called ENDTRANZ (Envelope Disk Transition Zone) and was located around the protostar L1527 IRS.
