New Observations Reveal the North Star’s Spotted Surface

Star Spotted Surface
New findings from the CHARA Array reveal significant details about Polaris, including its immense size and surface anomalies. These observations help refine our understanding of Cepheid variables, which are essential for gauging astronomical distances and studying the universe’s expansion. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Using the CHARA Array at Georgia State University, researchers have unveiled new insights into Polaris, the North Star.

Known for its role in navigation and as the brightest in a triple-star system, Polaris has now been observed in greater detail, revealing its size to be 46 times that of the Sun and showcasing large surface spots. These findings are crucial for using Cepheids as cosmic yardsticks, aiding in the measurement of cosmic distances and the expansion of the universe.

Researchers using Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array have identified new details about the size and appearance of the North Star, also known as Polaris. The new research was published on August 20 in The Astrophysical Journal.

Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array
The CHARA Array is a six-telescope facility located at the historic Mount Wilson Observatory in California. Credit: Georgia State University

Earth’s North Pole points to a direction in space marked by the North Star. Polaris is both a navigation aid and a remarkable star in its own right. It is the brightest member of a triple-star system and is a pulsating variable star. Polaris gets brighter and fainter periodically as the star’s diameter grows and shrinks over a four-day cycle.

Characteristics of Polaris as a Cepheid Variable

Polaris is a kind of star known as a Cepheid variable. Astronomers use these stars as “standard candles” because their true brightness depends on their period of pulsation: Brighter stars pulsate slower than fainter stars. How bright a star appears in the sky depends on the star’s true brightness and the distance to the star. Because we know the true brightness of a Cepheid based on its pulsational period, astronomers can use it to measure the distances to their host galaxies and to infer the expansion rate of the universe.

Large Bright and Dark Spots on the Surface of Polaris
CHARA Array false-color image of Polaris from April 2021 that reveals large bright and dark spots on the surface. Polaris appears about 600,000 times smaller than the Full Moon in the sky. Credit: Georgia State University / CHARA Array

Observational Techniques and Discoveries

A team of astronomers led by Nancy Evans at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian observed Polaris using the CHARA optical interferometric array of six telescopes at Mount Wilson, Calif. The goal of the investigation was to map the orbit of the close, faint companion that orbits Polaris every 30 years.

“The small separation and large contrast in brightness between the two stars makes it extremely challenging to resolve the binary system during their closest approach,” Evans said.

The CHARA Array combines the light of six telescopes that are spread across the mountaintop at the historic Mount Wilson Observatory. By combining the light, the CHARA Array acted like a 330-meter telescope to detect the faint companion as it passed close to Polaris. The observations of Polaris were recorded using the MIRC-X camera which was built by astronomers at the University of Michigan and Exeter University in the U.K. The MIRC-X camera has the remarkable ability to capture details of stellar surfaces.

CHARA Array Map
The CHARA Array is located at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. The six telescopes of the CHARA Array are arranged along three arms. The light from each telescope is transported through vacuum pipes to the central beam combining lab. All the beams converge on the MIRC-X camera in the lab. Credit: Georgia State University / CHARA Array

The team successfully tracked the orbit of the close companion and measured changes in the size of the Cepheid as it pulsated. The orbital motion showed that Polaris has a mass five times larger than that of the Sun. The images of Polaris showed that it has a diameter 46 times the size of the Sun.

Implications and Future Research

The biggest surprise was the appearance of Polaris in close-up images. The CHARA observations provided the first glimpse of what the surface of a Cepheid variable looks like.

“The CHARA images revealed large bright and dark spots on the surface of Polaris that changed over time,” said Gail Schaefer, director of the CHARA Array. The presence of spots and the rotation of the star might be linked to a 120-day variation in measured velocity.

“We plan to continue imaging Polaris in the future,” said John Monnier, an astronomy professor at the University of Michigan. “We hope to better understand the mechanism that generates the spots on the surface of Polaris.”

Reference: “The Orbit and Dynamical Mass of Polaris: Observations with the CHARA Array” by Nancy Remage Evans, Gail H. Schaefer, Alexandre Gallenne, Guillermo Torres, Elliott P. Horch, Richard I. Anderson, John D. Monnier, Rachael M. Roettenbacher, Fabien Baron, Narsireddy Anugu, James W. Davidson, Pierre Kervella, Garance Bras, Charles Proffitt, Antoine Mérand, Margarita Karovska, Jeremy Jones, Cyprien Lanthermann, Stefan Kraus, Isabelle Codron, Howard E. Bond and Giordano Viviani, 20 August 2024, The Astrophysical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad5e7a

The new observations of Polaris were made and recorded as part of the open access program at the CHARA Array, where astronomers from around the world can apply for time through the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab).

The CHARA Array open access program is funded by the National Science Foundation (grant AST-2034336). Institutional support for the CHARA Array is provided by Georgia State’s College of Arts & Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.