They cover a wide range of sizes, ages, and temperatures: fromMiniature
To better understand stars and stellar evolution,The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland has launched an ambitious new project with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope called ULLYSES (Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards).
Creating a kind of UV card index of stars will make it possible to systematize a large set of data.Hubble's sensitivity to ultraviolet light makes it the only observatory currently capable of studying stars at these wavelengths of light.Young, low-mass stars and massive monster stars emit a lot of energy in UV light.
ULLYSES is Hubble's largest observing program ever . More than 300 stars will be included in the review.Ultraviolet (UV) light from selected stars is used to create a library of spectral "templates" of young, low-mass stars from eight star-forming regions in the Milky Way, as well as fully mature high-mass stars in nearby dwarf galaxies, including the Magellanic Clouds.
This is a ground-based telescopic image of the BolshoiThe Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The galaxy is one of several select targets of a new initiative with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope called ULLYSES (UV Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards). The program looks at more than 300 stars to create a catalog of ultraviolet light to capture the diversity of stars, from young to old. The goal of the program is to give astronomers a better understanding of the birth of stars and how it relates to everything from planets to the formation and evolution of galaxies. The LMC contains hot, massive blue stars similar to the primitive composition of early galaxies, so astronomers can gain insight into how their outflows may have influenced the early evolution of galaxies billions of years ago. The target stars are taken from archived Hubble observations (yellow circles) and new observations (blue circles) from the ULLYSES program. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Roman-Duval (STScI), ULLYSES program and R. Gendler.
“One of the key goals of ULLYSES is to forma complete reference sample that can be used to create spectral libraries. ULLYSES will help astronomers around the world in future research, ”concludes Program Manager Julia Roman-Duval of STScI.
The Institute is currently providingthe astronomical community, the first series of ULLYSES observations. The early targets of the project are hot massive blue stars in several nearby dwarf galaxies.
This is a ground-based telescopic image of MalyiThe Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The galaxy is one of several select targets of a new initiative with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope called ULLYSES (UV Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards). The program looks at more than 300 stars to create a catalog of ultraviolet light to capture the diversity of stars, from young to old. The goal of the program is to give astronomers a better understanding of the birth of stars and how it relates to everything from planets to the formation and evolution of galaxies. The SMC contains hot, massive blue stars similar to the primitive composition of early galaxies, so astronomers can gain insight into how their outflows may have influenced the early evolution of galaxies billions of years ago. The target stars are taken from archived Hubble observations (yellow circles) and new observations (blue circles) from the ULLYSES program. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Roman-Duval (STScI), ULLYSES program and S. Guizar.
The goal of the program is to give astronomers morea complete understanding of the birth of stars and how it relates to everything from planets to the formation and evolution of galaxies. Astronomers want to know how young, low-mass stars influence the evolution and composition of the planets that form around them. Intense ultraviolet radiation breaks apart molecules and penetrates the circumstellar disks where planets form, affecting their chemical composition. This has a direct bearing on the habitability of planets.
STScI research and technical staff develop software to provide broad access to the library to the astronomical community.
The ULLYSES program is building a legacy for the future by creating a comprehensive database that astronomers will use for research in the coming decades.
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