Current Affairs - Science - Discussion

The Indian scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) have recently discovered 28 new variable stars in the Milky Way galaxy using 3.6 metre Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) established in 2016 near Nainital. The ARIES team of researchers was led by Dr. Sneh Lata and Dr. A K Pandey. It is for the first time that variable stars have been identified in Globular cluster NGC 4147 in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Besides the detection of new variable stars, the study also provides important insights into the internal structure of NGC 4147 which is located closer to the Earth than previously thought. A variable star is a star whose luminosity or brightness changes. This change may be caused due to periodical swelling and shrinking of the star or occasional block of light due to an eclipse by some other solar body. NGC 4147 was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1784.