Australian researchers have conducted 1.08 million observations of 920,000 stars over the past decade, collecting information about chemical components such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.
The Australian researchers have recently published data on the chemical composition of nearly 1 million stars, providing a foundation for further studies on the origins and development of galaxies.
(Image sourced from a video by ABC).
Scientists from the Australian Space Research Center (ASTRO 3D) under the Australian Research Council have been collecting data for over a decade.
Funded by the government, this center operates in collaboration with nine universities, led by the Australian National University.
The researchers performed 1.08 million observations of 920,000 stars using high-performance and high-resolution spectrographs connected to the “Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT),” the largest optical telescope in Australia. Through this, scientists gathered information on chemical components such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in the stars.
This data will help scientists understand how these elements are produced in stars and serve as foundational data to explain the origins of the building blocks of life.
According to scientist Emma Ryan-Weber, Director of ASTRO 3D, the aforementioned data is likened to “the DNA of stars,” containing “genetic” information about the formation and evolution of stars. This information can be used to determine the origin, age, and movement of a star, providing deeper insights into how galaxies form.
Additionally, this new data will also be utilized to train the next generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the quest to explore the universe.
