Science/Tech

Scientists Discover One Of The Earliest Stars Existing in The Universe

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Feb 11, 2014 09:22 AM EST

Scientists at MIT have reportedly captured the images of the stars among which one is being considered as the oldest one ever discovered. The findings might help in developing a better understanding of how the early universe evolved. 

Researchers have believed that early stars exploded with huge amount of energy and littered the universe with the heavy elements. These heavy elements consisted carbon, iron and oxygen. According to the researchers, the early stars contained a level of iron who upper limit was low, suggesting that the star was a second-generation star. 

"One very central question for all of us is, 'How did the first stars and galaxies get started?'" said co-author Anna Frebel, an assistant professor of physics and a member of MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research in the press release. "This star had a lower-than-expected explosion energy, and also lower than today's regular supernovae, which was really an unexpected finding."

The earliest star, G292.0+1.8, is a young and oxygen rich supernova remnant and was captured by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The captured image depicted a rapidly expanding shell of gas that is 36 light-years across. It is also believed that it contains oxygen, neon, sulfur, and silicon. 

The discovery will enable researchers to develop a new perspective towards the formation of universe's oldest stars. 

The findings are published in the journal Nature.

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