International astronomy project POEMS was kicked off

Project POEMS which includes Tartu Observatory as a partner was kicked off. The core of the project is researching the physics of extreme massive stars. POEMS is a Horizon 2020 project.

The ultimate goal of POEMS is to enlighten the processes that trigger mass loss in massive stars during extreme phases of their evolution. Cutting-edge numerical codes suitable to describe the chemical and dynamical evolution of the stars, their winds, and their large-scale environments will be developed.

In addition, global observing campaigns will be initiated, utilizing facilities at major renowned observatories in combination with our national facilities, and exploit public archives from ground-based and space missions to acquire an outstanding set of urgently needed highest quality data. Confronting predictions from the numerical models with the observations will enable to derive the first extensive and comprehensive set of precise physical parameters.

More information can be found on the project website