Observing the field of the globular cluster Palomar 2 withWith the help of the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), astronomers have discovered 32 new variable stars. The newly discovered variables are mainly RR Lyrae stars.
Studying variable stars helps astronomerslearn more about stellar structure and evolution. They will also help to better understand the scale of distances in the universe. In particular, the so-called RR Lyrae variables (RRLs) are a powerful tool for studying the morphology, metallicity, and age of galaxies, especially those with low surface brightness. As a rule, RRLs are pulsating horizontal branch stars of spectral class A or F with about half the solar mass.
A group of astronomers led by Armando ArellanoFerro of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) reports the discovery of dozens of new variables. The discovery was made as a result of long-term observations of the Palomar 2 field using the 2.0-meter IAO telescope. Palomar 2 is a distant globular cluster located about 100,000 light-years away in the constellation Auriga. So far, no variables have been reported in this stellar group.
In total, scientists found 32 variables.Thanks to the IAO, astronomers have found 20 RR Lyrae RRab variables and one RRc type. Analyzing data from the ESA Gaia satellite, they identified 10 more variables and one red giant branch (RGB) star. The study showed that six of these ten variable stars are of the RRab type. Astronomers have performed an ownership analysis of the identified variable stars. It turned out that 18 of them are members of Palomar 2.
In addition, based on the collected datathe researchers found that this cluster is about 86,000 light-years from Earth, which is closer than previously thought. At the same time, the metallicity of the cluster is at the level of -1.39, and this is already consistent with previous studies.
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