Kepler Helps Clear Multiple Star Mysteries

Since the launch of the Kepler Telescope, NASA managed to find more than a thousand exoplanetary candidates, demonstrating that planet-hunting observatories are indeed capable of finding new worlds around other stars. But recently, Kepler proved it can take on multiple roles and types of studies.

Two new researches saw the spacecraft being used for measurements which were not initially intended for Kepler to observe. The instrument suite aboard the satellite looked at distant stars, and measured the amount of starlight they produced.

One of the study teams learned that these Sun-class stars could produce tremendously tiny brightness variations. These events were observed in more than 500 stellar objects, experts say, so this is not an isolated phenomenon.

According to the researchers, the new discovery might help astronomers gain a better understanding of some of the most basic processes underlying stellar evolution. The chemical composition of these objects might also become clearer as a result.

For the second investigation, Kepler was used to image a triple star system, in which two different types of eclipses can be readily seen. The system, called 181068, did not reveal the small-scale brightness variations that the 500 objects in the other study did.

“Kepler is returning a treasure trove of information on the properties of stars,” says University of Texas in Austin (UTA) astronomer Michael Montgomery, who was not a member of the teams in charge of either of the two studies.

He is however the author of an accompanying “Perspectives” editorial, which appears in the April 8 issue of the top journal Science, Space reports.

“Although already impressive, these observations represent only the tip of the iceberg of what we will learn through continued observation with Kepler and other ground- and space-based telescopes,” the expert wrote.

The second study, on the three-star system, was conducted by experts from the Eotvos University in Hungary, who were led by astronomer Aliz Derekas. It was revealed that HD 181068 is made up of a primary red dwarf, which is orbited by two smaller red dwarfs.

“Continued observations will allow dynamical models of the evolution of the stellar orbits to be tested,” explains Montgomery.

Given the purpose Kepler was built for – to detect alien planets around other stars – no one expected for it to be capable of conducting such specific and advanced investigations.