This is the first attempt to cover a wide range of stellar classifications, and do everything from the beginning – methodically and homogenously
- Paula Jofre
Previously, as with the longitude problem 300 years earlier for fixing locations on Earth, there was no unified system of reference for calibrating the heavens.
But now, when investigating the atmospheric structure and chemical make-up of stars, astronomers can use a new stellar scale as a ‘ruler’ – making it much easier for them to classify and compare data on star discoveries.
In fact, the work is a critical first step in the Gaia satellite’s mission to map the Milky Way, as the unprecedented levels of stellar data that will result need “consistent stellar parameters”, the same way we need values to measure everything from temperature to time, say astronomers.
The guidelines are free to download and are already being used by the world’s largest astronomy projects. The work has recently been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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Image: The first standardised way to measure stars has been developed for Gaia mission
Credit: Amanda Smith/Institute of Astronomy
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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