Chemical data of nearly 1 million stars published by Australian researchers

2/10/2024 12:53

        Australian researchers have released data on the chemical composition of nearly 1 million stars.
        
        Researchers said on Wednesday that the dataset from the major stellar mapping survey will form the basis of decades of research into the origins and development of the galaxy.
        
        The data was collected over 10 years by astronomers from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D), a government-funded collaboration between nine universities led by the Australian National University (ANU).
        
        Researchers used the High Efficiency and Resolution Multi-Element Spectrograph (HERMES), which is connected to the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT), to make 1.08 million observations of 920,000 stars.
        
        Sven Buder from ASTRO 3D and ANU said in a media release, "We have measured the elements within these stars, like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen."
        
        "This data will help us figure out how these elements are produced in stars, which is fundamental to explaining the origins of the building blocks of life."