How the scientists weigh Stars.
The stars are huge balls of hot gas located many billions of miles away, but when viewed from Earth, they appear as small bright spots visible in the night sky. In a new study, astronomers made an accurate measurement of the mass of a white dwarf, near a star that has reached the end of its life cycle. But how, exactly, can this be done? How scientists weigh the mass of a gaseous sphere light years away
Almost the only way we have astronomers to measure the mass of stars and planets and galaxies is by its gravitational influence on others, Terry Oswalt, professor of physical engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. In other words, if a satellite is in orbit around Jupiter, it is possible to estimate the mass of Jupiter by measuring the effects of the planet's gravity on the satellite's orbit. The 18 Greatest Unresolved Mysteries in Physics. Such estimates can be made with stars as well. Sensitive instruments such as NASA's Kepler Space Telescope can detect planets orbiting stars on the other side of the Milky Way by measuring small changes in the speed of stars as the planets tug at them in their orbits, he explained. Oswalt. These measures can also provide researchers with information about the masses of stars.
When two stars orbit each other, as is the case of binary stars, astronomers can measure their motion by the so-called Doppler effect, which is based on the same principle as a police radar pistol, according to Oswalt. However, this technique requires that objects be observable.
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