SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, June 14. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The star UCAC4 459-092739, located in the Constellation of the Eagle, is the first of a variable type in history discovered by students through sonification, a technique that allows analyzing the multiple light curves and transforming them into sound.
Now, the American Association of Variable Stars Observers (AAVSO), an organization that catalogs these celestial bodies worldwide, has given it the official name, since until now it was known only as ‘Star K’.
Thus concludes the adventure starring six Canarian students with visual disabilities: Ariana, David, Erika, Quintín, Kilian and Carla.
These students have been trained in workshops held in the months of April and May by the Astronomical and Educational Association of the Canary Islands ‘Henrietta Swan Leavitt’ (AAEC) in collaboration with the Program for the Promotion of Scientific Vocations and Creativity (STEAM) and the Specific Needs Area for Educational Support and Educational and Professional Guidance (NEAE) of the General Directorate for Planning, Innovation and Quality of the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The May session culminated with the discovery of this star, in whose identification the participating students autonomously used sonification, which consists of transforming sound into a mathematical-type graph (function).
It was formalized at NASA with the main objective that people with disabilities of this nature become familiar with the data from astronomical bases, details the Ministry in a note.
‘UCAC4 459-092739’ is an eclipsing type variable star, that is, it is actually a pair of gravitationally bound stars that rotate with respect to a common center of mass with a period of about four days.
The students and the students were able to detect with the ear how one of them outshone the other, causing a drop in the brightness of the system.
The general director of Planning, Innovation and Quality, Gregorio Cabrera, commented that this fact, qualified as a scientific contribution, is recognized with official certificates granted by the AAVSO, based in Boston, United States, which demonstrate that inclusive science is possible. , and that it is feasible to develop it regardless of physical condition, which is why ‘UCAC4 459-092739’ constitutes “an achievement” for public education in the Canary Islands.
