The binary stars studied by Ana Escorza (La Rioja, 34 years old) and Michael Abdul-Masih (New Jersey, United States, 31 years old) are pairs of stars that are born and evolve together. They are linked to each other by their gravitational field and rotate around themselves. The two astronomers, married for two years, investigate these double stars from different orbits: Escorza focuses on the interaction and transfer of materials in more evolved stars and Abdul-Masih is in charge of the evolution phase of younger stars and massive (larger in size). “Half of my stars have a partner and practically all of Michael’s are accompanied. If we do not study the interaction and the effect that one has on the other, we cannot say that we understand stellar evolution,” explains Escorza. Both have received a la Caixa Foundation postdoctoral scholarshipendowed with 305,100 euros, to develop its projects at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, an international reference center.
The physicist and the biochemist met while doing their doctorate at the University of Louvain, in Belgium. Afterwards they spent three years researching at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, and now they work at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the Teide Observatory. “We need telescopes in the northern and southern hemisphere. The best observatories in the south are in Chile and the best observatories in the north are in the Canary Islands,” Escorza admits. The good visibility on the island is due to the fact that “the mountain is very high, the atmosphere is very stable and there is nothing around,” both explain.
In the Atacama Desert of Chile, where they worked in the past, there is one of the challenges that they consider to be the most innovative in the sector. This is the ELT (Extremely Large Telescope), the largest telescope on the planet, capable of detecting visible and infrared light. It is a project of European Southern Observatory (ESO) made up of 16 countries, scheduled to be ready in 2028. “It is going to be a telescope with almost 40 meters of mirror that is going to show us things that 20 years ago people did not even imagine we would be able to see,” Escorza reveals.
Stability at 40
The Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands has 250 scientists from different disciplines, which represents “a third of the Spanish astronomical community doing science in Spanish institutions,” says Escorza. In their daily lives, the two astronomers are in charge of analyzing and interpreting data, writing articles and preparing talks. Additionally, to move forward with their projects they have to convince a committee to give them time at a telescope. One problem they face with this tool is the more than 8,000 satellites that orbit the Earth and interfere with their visibility, making them “lose money.” Both demand that there be more control over them and propose that they “orbit at dusk instead of at night, that they do not cross the observatories and that they be given different materials and colors so that they are less visible.”
At first, astronomy was a hobby for them. After studying physics, Escorza worked one summer at an observatory in Soria, and realized that he liked scientific dissemination and that he “could make a living from it.” They recognize that science in Spain “is not as well paid as in northern Europe” and, for Abdul-Masih, the problem in the sector is that “there are more people who want to do science” than there is supply. In Spain, the job stability of young researchers “is around 40 years,” he adds. “People get permanent positions later than in Europe. The most direct way to get it is through a Ramón y Cajal scholarship, which you can apply for four years after your doctorate. I compete against people much older than me, and they get the scholarship because they have been working for more years,” Escorza admits.
‘Paper’ in pandemic
The pair of scientists uses binary stars to better understand stars. They work “together, but not mixed up,” Escorza jokes. However, in 2021 they had the opportunity to collaborate together. Locked at home due to the covid-19 pandemic, they came up with an idea about the massive stars that Abdul-Masih studies, when they are in the phase over contact (They call the stars “peanut” because of their shape). Since there are only 10 massive stars in this phase, as Abdul-Masih reveals, they wanted to check if this was due to the time they took to orbit. They shaped it into an article published by the magazine Astronomy & Astrophysics. “We collect data from archives of old telescopes and missions from 100 years ago,” they reveal.
With a sample of six stars peanut They found that both factors were unrelated: the period changes were very small and had no correlation with the mass proportion, as revealed by the study. “We found that they have a very stable orbit and that the phase has to last long enough for it to be that stable, but it gave us ideas to investigate other reasons why there are so few stars in this phase.” They called it a “pandemic article” because it was the first time the couple shared science and an office.
To celebrate this Saturday World Astronomy Day, have no plans at the moment, although they admit that in other years they have done outreach with other astronomers. “For us it is every day,” says Abdul-Masih. They emphasize that astronomy, in addition to being a beautiful science, has the power to attract people in general. This month, Escorza participates in the Pint of Science, a scientific dissemination festival that can be found in bars in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 67 other cities in Spain. A relaxed place to bring together researchers and the public. “Beer gives inspiration,” Escorza concludes.
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