Credit: Philip Lucas/University of HertfordshireInfrared Insights and Protostar PhenomenaAn worldwide team of researchers led by Professor Philip Lucas, of the University of Hertfordshire, made their ground-breaking discovery after monitoring practically a billion stars in infrared light throughout a 10-year study of the night sky.They also found dozens of rarely-seen newborn stars, understood as protostars, which go through extreme outbursts over a period of months, years or years, as part of the development of a new solar system.Most of these newly-spotted stars are hidden from view in visible light by big amounts of dust and gas in the Milky Way– but infrared light can get through, permitting scientists to see them for the first time.Artists impression of an eruption in the disc of matter around a newborn star. The team kept a careful eye on hundreds of millions of stars and analyzed 222 that revealed the largest changes in brightness.Spectral Analysis and the VVV SurveyProfessor Lucas stated: “About two-thirds of the stars were simple to classify as well-understood occasions of numerous types. Credit: Philip Lucas/University of HertfordshireUnveiling a New Type of Red GiantHowever, the study likewise threw up something completely unexpected.There were 21 red stars near the center of the Milky Way that revealed unclear modifications in brightness throughout the 10-year survey.Professor Lucas discussed: “We werent sure if these stars were protostars beginning an eruption, or recuperating from a dip in brightness triggered by a disc or shell of dust in front of the star– or if they were older giant stars tossing off matter in the late phases of their life.” Analysis of the spectra for 7 of these stars, compared with information from earlier studies, concluded that they were in truth a new type of red huge star.Professor Dante Minniti at Andrés Bello University, Chile, founder of the VVV study, said: “These elderly stars sit quietly for decades or years and then puff out clouds of smoke in a completely unforeseen way. They are greatly focused in the inner part of the Milky Way, known as the Nuclear Disc, an area where stars tend to be richer in heavy elements than anywhere else.This ought to make it much easier for dust particles to condense out of gas in the relatively cool outer layers of red huge stars.
Credit: Philip Lucas/University of HertfordshireInfrared Insights and Protostar PhenomenaAn international team of researchers led by Professor Philip Lucas, of the University of Hertfordshire, made their ground-breaking discovery after keeping track of nearly a billion stars in infrared light during a 10-year study of the night sky.They also identified lots of rarely-seen newborn stars, understood as protostars, which undergo severe outbursts over a duration of years, months or decades, as part of the development of a brand-new solar system.Most of these newly-spotted stars are concealed from view in noticeable light by large quantities of dust and gas in the Milky Way– however infrared light can get through, enabling researchers to see them for the first time.Artists impression of an eruption in the disc of matter around a newborn star. Credit: Philip Lucas/University of HertfordshireUnveiling a New Type of Red GiantHowever, the study also tossed up something totally unexpected.There were 21 red stars near the center of the Milky Way that revealed unclear changes in brightness throughout the 10-year survey.Professor Lucas discussed: “We werent sure if these stars were protostars beginning an eruption, or recovering from a dip in brightness caused by a disc or shell of dust in front of the star– or if they were older giant stars tossing off matter in the late stages of their life.” Analysis of the spectra for 7 of these stars, compared with information from earlier surveys, concluded that they were in fact a brand-new type of red giant star.Professor Dante Minniti at Andrés Bello University, Chile, founder of the VVV study, stated: “These elderly stars sit silently for years or years and then puff out clouds of smoke in an absolutely unforeseen method.
