Context
The team from the National Institute Science Education and Research (NISER) studied a unique triple-star system called GG Tau A System.
About GG Tau A System
- Triple-star system located 489 light-years from Earth.
- Age: 1 to 5 million years old—ideal for studying early stages of planet formation.
- Surrounded by a disk of gas and dust, where planets begin to form.
- The three stars in GG Tau A interact with each other, influencing the disk of gas and dust.
- Multi-star interactions make it harder to predict planet formation compared to single-star systems.
- The forces between stars could cause the disk to behave differently, providing valuable insights into planet formation in complex star systems.
- Significance:
- A rare setup in the universe, helping scientists understand planet formation in multi-star environments.
- Offers insights into how planets could form in more complicated star systems.
Protostar
- A protostar is the early stage in the formation of a star, occurring when a dense core of gas and dust in a stellar nebula starts contracting under gravity.
- Temperature and pressure increase as the protostar contracts, eventually leading to nuclear fusion reactions.
- The protostar is much larger than its final form and continues to contract and heat up until it reaches the main sequence stage.
- Key Characteristics of Protostar Stage:
- Nuclear fusion is not yet strong enough to sustain the star. Energy is generated by the gravitational contraction of the material, not by fusion.
- Marks the transition from a cloud of gas and dust to a self-sustaining star.
Source: TOI
Previous Year Question
The terms ‘Event Horizon’, ‘Singularity’, ‘String Theory’ and ‘Standard Model’ are sometimes seen in the news in the context of
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) Observation and understanding of the Universe
(b) Study of the solar and the lunar eclipses
(c) Placing satellites in the orbit of the Earth
(d) Origin and evolution of living organisms on the Earth
Answer: (a)