Context:
Recently, the Indian-American astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni was awarded the Shaw Prize for Astronomy in 2024 for his work on the physics of astronomical transients.
Relevance:
Facts for Prelims
Astronomical Transients
Definition:
- Astronomical Transients: Celestial objects whose brightness changes over short periods.
Significance:
- Nature of Transients: All astronomical transients involve some degree of violent phenomena.
- Purpose of Study: Understanding transients helps astronomers learn about the origins of their violence and provides insights into non-transient events.
Examples of Transients:
Supernovae:
- Mechanism: The outer layers of massive stars explode while their cores collapse due to exhaustion of nuclear fuel.
- Brightness: Can emit light more intensely than the combined light of all stars in their host galaxy.
Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN):
- Components: Host supermassive black holes at the centers of massive galaxies.
- Behavior: These black holes consume surrounding matter, causing the matter to gain energy and emit varying levels of brightness.
Fast Radio Bursts (FRB):
- Discovery: First identified in 2007.
- Energy Emission: Can release more than ten times the energy of the Sun within a few milliseconds.
-Source: The Hindu
