The recently unearthed “untouched” star is a red giant approximately 30 times larger than our sun.(Image credit: Getty Images)
It seems space experts may have just detected the “most unadulterated” star known to date, concealed close to the boundary of the Milky Way. The peculiar faraway sun, which could stem from one of the universe’s earliest stars, is so scarce in metal that it defies a key tenet of stellar creation.
Every recognized star obtains its energy from atomic fusion, which impels atoms of less hefty elements together under enormous force, combining them into weightier elements while discharging considerable power. The quintessential illustration is hydrogen, the prime constituent of stars, amalgamating into helium, the second-most prevalent element in stars. Nevertheless, at the absolute nucleus of stars, alternate combined elements such as carbon, oxygen, and iron can be discerned — with the latter standing as the most copious metal within stars. Bulkier metals including gold, copper, and uranium are formed during the explosive deaths of stars in supernovas, and can likewise be present in many stars.
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In a recent study, released on Sept. 25 via the preprint platform arXiv, a team of scientists unveiled their finding of a novel star, designated SDSS J0715-7334, which displayed the nadir of metallicity among all identified stars, by a noteworthy margin. It came to light through MINESweeper, a program that sifts for stars amidst the data amassed by the European Space Agency’s now-decommissioned Gaia space telescope.
The newfound star, a red giant roughly 30 times heftier than the sun, is almost doubly pristine compared to the preceding least metallic star and embodies over 10 times less metal than the most iron-deficient star documented until the present, as deduced from initial light spectrum analysis. It presently claims both distinctions, the researchers stated.
The majority of elements heavier than iron materialize during supernovas, later inherited by nascent stars originating from the debris of such stellar explosions.
J0715-7334 likely dwells approximately 85,000 light-years distant from our planet, though pinpointing its accurate distance remains challenging at this stage, according to researchers. This roughly positions it within the bounds of the Milky Way. Nevertheless, the star’s angular momentum intimates that it sprouted from the Large Magellanic Cloud — a dwarf galaxy encompassing around 30 billion stars, closely circling the Milky Way — prior to being absorbed into our own galaxy.
The especially captivating attribute of J0715-7334 is its minimal carbon presence. The bulk of other iron-lacking stars exhibit a comparatively pronounced carbon proportion, thus upholding their aggregate metallicity. (This explains why the former most iron-scarce star didn’t concurrently bear the title of least metallic, as carbon contributes towards metallicity in spite of not being a metal.)
The remarkably diminished metallicity alludes to J0715-7334 as a lineal successor to a primordial star, shaped from the fundamental hydrogen clouds lingering post-Big Bang. This affords other scientists an avenue to peer back towards the inception of stellar transformation.
J0715-7334 most likely hails from a star-birthing region nestling within the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The fresh discovery may additionally assist investigators in deciphering how such metal-poor stars evolve, which, hypothetically, shouldn’t be viable.
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J0715-7334 now ranks as the second documented star with metallicity dipping below what scientists designate as the “fine structure cooling threshold.” This demarcation denotes the minimal quantity of heavy elements mandatory for superheated gas agglomerations to adequately cool to commence star generation, as these elements dissipate more energy, in effect chilling their vicinities. (This posed no dilemma for initial stars, as the primeval hydrogen retained a reduced temperature during their genesis.)
The research cohort postulates that stars such as J0715-7334 persist in their aptitude for formation owing to cosmic detritus — minuscule shards from expired stars and planets, which may furnish supplementary gas chilling.
Harry BakerSocial Links NavigationSenior Staff Writer
Harry serves as a senior staff writer for Live Science, rooted in the U.K. He initially pursued marine biology studies at the University of Exeter prior to pursuing journalism training. His journalistic pursuits encompass a spectrum of subjects, spanning from space exploration and planetary science to space weather, climate shifts, animal behavior, and paleontology. His contributions centering on the solar maximum garnered the “best space submission” accolade at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and earned a shortlist nomination in the “top scoop” section during the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. Additionally, he authors Live Science’s recurring Earth from space compilation.
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