ERAU: New Technique More Precisely Determines the Ages of Stars

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ERAU: New Technique More Precisely Determines the Ages of Stars

Post by bystander » Fri Jan 11, 2019 5:39 pm

New Technique More Precisely Determines the Ages of Stars
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | 2019 Jan 10
How old are each of the stars in our roughly 13-billion-year-old galaxy? A new technique for understanding the star-forming history of the Milky Way in unprecedented detail makes it possible to determine the ages of stars at least two times more precisely than conventional methods, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University researchers reported Jan. 10 at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting.

Current star-dating techniques, based on assessments of stars in the prime or main sequence of their lives that have begun to die after exhausting their hydrogen, offer a 20-percent, or at best a 10-percent margin of error, explained Embry-Riddle Physics and Astronomy Professor Dr. Ted von Hippel. Embry-Riddle's approach, leveraging burnt-out remnants called white dwarf stars, reduces the margin of error to 5 percent or even 3 percent, he said.

For this method to work, von Hippel and his team must measure the star's surface temperature, whether it has a hydrogen or helium atmosphere, and its mass. The surface temperature can be determined from a star's color and atmospheric constituents. ...

Precise Ages of Field Stars from White Dwarf Companions ~ Morgan Fouesneau et al
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