![]() But footprints from other, later supernovae will stomp out the trail of the first stars. So a second-generation star with the chemical footprint of a first-generation predecessor could tell us about the first stars in the Universe. This gas is incorporated into the next generation of stars. The gas released by the explosions of these very first, very massive stars would have had a different chemical signature than gas released by the explosions of less-massive, longer-lived stars. A star this large would have completely exploded after a short lifetime, leaving behind no remnant for astronomers to study. ![]() That first generation of stars in the Universe is thought to have included stars hundreds of times more massive than the Sun. Models show such stars would not have left behind any other remnants, so a footprint like this is the best evidence that can be hoped for. This is the clearest evidence yet that the first stars included very massive stars. ![]() It matches theoretical expectations for the chemical footprint left behind by very massive, very early stars. (Credit: SDSS/NAOJ)Īstronomers have discovered a star on the outskirts of the Milky Way Galaxy with a chemical composition unlike anything they have ever seen. It is 3000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Leo, and is slightly less-massive than the Sun. ![]() An optical image of LAMOST J101051.9+235850.2 taken from SDSS.
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