Washington: European scientists have found a
subdwarf star nearly 550 light years away from the Sun -- a
discovery that will help astronomers understand the formation
of our Galaxy.
The team of astronomers from two Spanish space research
centres identified the thousands of millions of years-old star
with a mass of one tenth of the Sun using the largest
optical-infrared telescope in the world, Gran Telescopio
CANARIAS (GTC), the Science Daily reported.
The star, nicknamed ULAS1350, could become one of the key
element to improve our knowledge on the first steps of the
formation of our Galaxy, the scientists said.
ULAS1350 has been classified as a subdwarf of type L and
is the fifth of its class to be discovered to date and the
first one confirmed by the GTC.
"We concentrated our efforts on this class of old stars,
not only because they are only four known to date but also
because they are key objects to understand the formation of
the Milky Way," said Nicolas Lodieu, lead author of the study,
which appeared in the Astrophysical Journal.
These objects represent ideal candidates to search for
extrasolar planets due to their small size and low mass, both
closer to a giant planet than a solar-type star.
The stellar relic is located at a distance of 300 to 550
light years from the Sun, hundreds of light years further than
its four counterparts.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 13:34