Washington, September 18 (ANI): A team of scientists has solved a longstanding mystery about a pair of stars called DI Herculis whose peculiar rotation had remained a mystery for three decades.
The shift in the orbit of DI Herculis was a mystery till now.
Now, MIT (Massachusetts Institute Of Technology) researchers and colleagues have determined that the stars are rotating tipped over on their sides, relative to their orbits around each other.
This produces tidal effects that counteract the expected rate for the orbits to shift orientation over time (called precession), finally explaining the mysterious anomaly.
The discrepancy in the rate of precession had been seen as a possible refutation of Einstein’s theory of relativity, so finding a conventional explanation means that relativity has withstood another possible challenge.
This discovery could also help to shed light on how binary stars (about half of all known stars) are formed and how their rotation and orbits evolve over time.
The mystery was solved by postdoctoral researcher Simon Albrecht and assistant professor of physics Joshua Winn and others, who used a high-resolution spectrograph called Sophie on a 1.93-meter telescope at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence in France to make highly detailed observations that revealed the unexpected tilt – one of more than 70 degrees from vertical, the other more than 80 degrees – of the stars’ rotation axes.
The team now hopes to study other unusual binary stars to try to determine how unusual this tipped-over configuration is. (ANI)
Musharraf power theft scandal case: Low level workers punished
Islamabad, Sep 17 (ANI): The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has only punished 64 junior officers for their involvement in the power theft scandal involving former President Pervez Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz and others in the luxurious Chak Shahzad farmhouses.
The big guns in the electricity department have not even been touched, according to well-placed sources.
The list of punished employees includes 35-meter readers, 14 line superintendents and 15 sub-divisional officers, The News reports.
Sources said these personnel were those who had to implement the orders of the higher-ups and no high-ranking official has been touched in the order passed by Iesco on 10-9-2009.
The official spokesman for Iesco, Ameer Hussain Chaman, when asked about the punishment, said he was not aware of any such punishments.
“I have not been conveyed any such details, therefore, I cannot offer any comment over the issue,” he added.
Sources said Colonel Umer Hayat was conducting the inquiry and on 9-9-2009 his tenure was completed and on 10-09-2009 these personnel were punished.
They say that in this power-theft scandal the higher-ups passed all the orders and the junior officers had no option, but to obey the orders.
It is worth mentioning here that Musharraf had constructed a modern house on the farm obtained for breeding poultry and vegetables, but the ex-general has been enjoying the cheapest power tariff, D-2(1) connection, which is meant for agriculture tube wells and lift irrigation pumps. (ANI)