Space
First Ever Movie of Surface Stellar Evolution Captured of a Star Outside the Solar System
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Oct 21, 2015 08:44 AM EDT
For the first time ever, researchers have caught a movie that shows the evolution of stellar spots on a star outside our solar system. The new movie reveals a bit more about the growth of giant stellar spots.
Generally, it's not possible to resolve stellar surfaces other than our sun's directly. Mathematical methods and observing techniques, though, can be used to resolve stellar surfaces indirectly. Known as Doppler imaging or Doppler tomography, this technique became the most advanced tool for the study of stars. In this case, the researchers took a well-sampled time series of high-resolution spectra.
Such long-term, highly-sampled, phase resolved spectroscopic data from the Doppler imaging of the red giant star, XX Tri, was possible with the help of STELLA robotic telescopes over a period of six years.
The newly created move shows a star-spot distribution with ever changing morphology. This includes spot fragmentation and spot merging. There's also a large range of variability timescales.
"We can see our first application as a prototype for upcoming stellar cycle studies, as it enables the prediction of a magnetic-activity cycle on a dramatically shorter timescale than usual," said Andreas Kunstler, one of the researchers, in a news release.
Sunspots are created when magnetic flux tubes emerge after a dynamo process in the interior. Sunspots host strong magnetic fields, which means that this latest study provides indirect information about the internal dynamo activity.
The new findings reveal a bit more about the processes that occur on stars in general outside our solar system.
The findings are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
You can check out the video here.
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First Posted: Oct 21, 2015 08:44 AM EDT
For the first time ever, researchers have caught a movie that shows the evolution of stellar spots on a star outside our solar system. The new movie reveals a bit more about the growth of giant stellar spots.
Generally, it's not possible to resolve stellar surfaces other than our sun's directly. Mathematical methods and observing techniques, though, can be used to resolve stellar surfaces indirectly. Known as Doppler imaging or Doppler tomography, this technique became the most advanced tool for the study of stars. In this case, the researchers took a well-sampled time series of high-resolution spectra.
Such long-term, highly-sampled, phase resolved spectroscopic data from the Doppler imaging of the red giant star, XX Tri, was possible with the help of STELLA robotic telescopes over a period of six years.
The newly created move shows a star-spot distribution with ever changing morphology. This includes spot fragmentation and spot merging. There's also a large range of variability timescales.
"We can see our first application as a prototype for upcoming stellar cycle studies, as it enables the prediction of a magnetic-activity cycle on a dramatically shorter timescale than usual," said Andreas Kunstler, one of the researchers, in a news release.
Sunspots are created when magnetic flux tubes emerge after a dynamo process in the interior. Sunspots host strong magnetic fields, which means that this latest study provides indirect information about the internal dynamo activity.
The new findings reveal a bit more about the processes that occur on stars in general outside our solar system.
The findings are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
You can check out the video here.
Related Stories
Massive, Early Cataclysm on the Earth and the Moon Questioned
Massive, Coronal Hole in the Sun May Cause Series of Auroras on Earth
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister siteHeadlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone