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Indian researchers make new discovery about Omega Centauri

The researchers were surprised to find that stars of the globular cluster Omega Centauri emit low ultraviolet radiation.

, and Bhavana P

January 1, 2023 . 9:00 AM

2 min read

A false colour image of the globular cluster Omega Centauri obtained using AstroSat/UVIT. The stars, as seen using the FUV filter, F148W, are shown in green colour. The red boundary indicates the field of view observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, and the yellow circular border represents the extent of the cluster core. The authors find that from the inside to outside, there are 5 generations of hot stars that have an initial helium fraction from 23% to 43%, in the age range of 11-13 billion years and other chemical differences.(Image - Department of science and technology)

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and their foreign collaborators have discovered that hot stars and white dwarfs generate less ultraviolet radiation than anticipated, while studying the Omega Centauri system, the biggest globular cluster system in our galaxy.