Gaia-1 Chemical Analysis

Gaia-1 Chemical Analysis

The Gaia satellite from ESA displays the stars of the Milky Way

Scientists from the University of Lancaster recently studied the chemical composition of open Gaia-1 star clusters. This is a large cluster, discovered in May 2017 at a distance of 15,000 light years. In the mass reaches 22,000 solar.

The basic information is already known, but the researchers are not completely sure of their age, metallicity and origin. Originally announced that the cluster is 6.3 billion years old and it is a moderately rich metal system. But further study considered that the age was 3.3 billion years less, and that there was much more metal. Some even believe that the cluster has formed beyond the galactic limit, and the orbit diverts 5500 light years away from the galactic disk. To resolve these issues, conducted a chemical analysis. Concentrated on 14 elements in 4 cluster members. A spectrograph at the 2.2-meter Dune telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory (Chile) was used to observe the stars. He discovered a huge amount of carbon, oxygen, lithium, chromium, magnesium, silicon, calcium, titanium, aluminum, vanadium, scandium, nickel, zinc and cobalt.

They also found out that Gaia-1 is associated with a dense galactic disk and is poorer in metal. And this is a massive cluster of open type, and not a globular with a small mass. But the exact origin is still shrouded in mystery. Further review will help to find out more information.

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