Skip to main content

Citizen scientist discovers a raft of ultracool binary stars

It’s not only professional astronomers who make amazing discoveries about space — sometimes enthusiastic amateurs can make impressive scientific discoveries as well. Recently citizen scientist Frank Kiwy used publicly available data to discover 34 new ultracool dwarf binary systems located near our solar system.

“These discoveries were made by an amateur astronomer who conquered astronomical big data,” Aaron Meisner, an astronomer at NSF’s NOIRLab in a statement. “Modern astronomy archives contain an immense treasure trove of data and often harbor major discoveries just waiting to be noticed.”

Illustration of an ultracool dwarf with a companion white dwarf.
Illustration of an ultracool dwarf with a companion white dwarf. Ace citizen scientist Frank Kiwy used the Astro Data Lab science platform at NSF’s NOIRLab to discover 34 new ultracool dwarf binary systems in the Sun’s neighborhood, nearly doubling the number of such systems known. NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick

A binary system is a type where two stars orbit each other. And a brown dwarf is an object between a star and a planet — cooler than a star but hotter than a planet. They don’t have nuclear fusion going on inside them, which is how stars produce their heat, but they are similar to what happens to a star as it cools. There weren’t that many brown dwarf binaries known before this discovery, so the finding has significantly increased the pool of brown dwarf binaries which can now be studied.

The discovery was made as part of the Backyard Worlds project; a group of citizen scientists who comb through telescope data to look for indications of previously undiscovered objects like brown dwarfs.

“The Backyard Worlds project has fostered a diverse community of talented volunteers,” said Meisner, who is also co-founder of Backyard Worlds. “150,000 volunteers across the globe have participated in Backyard Worlds, among which a few hundred ‘super users’ perform ambitious self-directed research projects.”

This particular set of brown dwarfs was discovered from data from NOIRLab’s Astro Data Archive. After Kiwy founds indications of the brown dwarf binaries, the results were published in a paper authored with professional astronomers.

“I love the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project! Once you master the regular workflow you can dive much deeper into the subject,” said Kiwy. “If you’re a person who is curious and not afraid to learn something new, this might be the right thing for you.”

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
Scientists discover monster 17-pound meteorite in Antarctica
The researchers with their 16.7-pound find. White helmet: Maria Schönbächler. Green helmet: Maria Valdes. Black helmet: Ryoga Maeda. Orange helmet: Vinciane Debaille.

A team of researchers working in Antarctica have discovered a massive meteorite, weighing in at a hefty 17 pounds. Rocks falling to Earth from space aren't uncommon, but it's very unusual for such a large one to be found. Studying such meteorites can help scientists learn about early conditions in the solar system and even about how planets form.

The researchers found a total of five meteorites, including the gigantic 17-pounder. Antarctica is an inhospitable place for humans but a great location for meteorite hunting, thanks to its combination of dry climate and snowy conditions, which make it easier to spot dark hunks of rocks.

Read more
NASA is asking for your help to study exoplanets
Members of the public can help astronomers observe and study the night sky through NASA’s Universe of Learning Exoplanet Watch program.

With new tools like the James Webb Space Telescope, we're discovering more exoplanets than ever and even peering into their atmospheres. Now, NASA is asking for the public's help in learning more about some of the exoplanets that have already been detected in a citizen science program called Exoplanet Watch.

“With Exoplanet Watch you can learn how to observe exoplanets and do data analysis using software that actual NASA scientists use,” said Rob Zellem, the creator of Exoplanet Watch and an astrophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement. “We’re excited to show more people how exoplanet science is really done.”

Read more
Astronomers find remnants of planets around 10 billion-year-old stars
Artist’s impression of the old white dwarfs WDJ2147-4035 and WDJ1922+0233 surrounded by orbiting planetary debris, which will accrete onto the stars and pollute their atmospheres. WDJ2147-4035 is extremely red and dim, while WDJ1922+0233 is unusually blue.

Far away in the depths of the Milky Way lie two small, dim stars that are in the final stage of their life. At over 10 billion years old, white dwarfs WDJ2147-4035 and WDJ1922+0233 are among the oldest stars in our galaxy, and recently, astronomers discovered something special orbiting around them: the remains of planets, making this one of the oldest known rocky planetary systems.

Astronomers used data from GAIA, the Dark Energy Survey, and the X-Shooter instrument at the European Southern Observatory to peer at this system. They identified debris from orbiting planetesimals, which are globs of dust and rock which are created during planetary formation. The researchers used spectroscopy to look at the light coming from the two white dwarf stars and break it down into different wavelengths, which can show what materials the stars and the surrounding matter are made of.

Read more