Wolfhard Schlosser

Binary Star Systems

Star catalogue data indicate that only 30 of every 100 stars are alone (Allen, 1973). The rest are in double or multiple star systems. By itself, this finding would be sufficient justification for including binary star systems in a book designed to help its readers explore the nature of our cosmos. But there is much more. Binary stars are a means to obtain masses, sizes, temperatures, and surface details of stars other than the Sun. In other words, they are a major source of fundamental data. If scientists can be thought of as prospectors, binary stars are a rich lode of pure gold.

The milky way in high resolution U photometry and inferences on its structure

A high resolution ultraviolet photometry of the Milky Way is presented (Schlosser, Schmidt-Kaler, Schneider, in prep.). The resolution is 0525 for the southern part ~ = 235°...360°...15 °. Including the data after Winkler, Schmidt-Kaler, Pfleiderer (1984), it is I ° for the whole Milky Way (fig. I). The half width of the brightness distribution perpendicular to the equator is 875. This is definitely narrower than in the visual.