Scientists discover one of earliest stars of universe

ANKARA

Astronomers discovered one of the oldest stars in history located 35,000 light-years from the Milky Way.

According to an article published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Monday, SkyMapper telescope discovered the new ultra metal-poor halo star dubbed SMSS J160540.18–144323.1.

The star is believed to have emerged about 13.8 billion years ago.

“This incredibly anaemic star, which likely formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, has iron levels 1.5 million times lower than that of the Sun," said Thomas Nordlander, leader of the team that made the discovery.

Nordlander said iron content of the star was so low that it was like a “drop of water in Olympic swimming pool.”

Australian scientist and his colleagues argue that the star emerged following the explosion of one of the first stars of our universe and these first stars were only composed of hydrogen, helium and lithium that came out following Big Bang.

Scientists believe that the anaemic star on the edge of the Milky Way might help them unearth the secrets of our universe.