Discovery of a UV bright star population in Globular Cluster NGC 2808
Earth and Space Sciences
Globular clusters are the best laboratories to study the evolution of stars. The globular cluster NGC 2808 was studied in ultraviolet using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on-board AstroSat by a team led by IIST researchers. Using different wavebands (filters), the team discovered the presence of a distinct group of red horizontal branch stars in the cluster, which sheds light on the understanding of multiple populations within the cluster.
Caption: UVIT-AstroSat image of the globular cluster NGC 2808, with far-ultraviolet shown in blue and near-ultraviolet in yellow. The red and light-blue circles show the locations of two populations of faint red-horizontal branch stars identified using UVIT-AstroSat. (Right) Four populations of ultraviolet stars identified in the cluster using the UVIT colour-magnitude diagram.
Ref: Investigation of the globular cluster NGC 2808 with the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope, Rashi Jain, S. Vig, S. K. Ghosh, S. K. 2019, MNRAS, 485, p2877