Scientists Discover Ancient Red Star That Evolved Just Years After Big Bang

In a breakthrough discovery, scientists have discovered one of the ancient stars in the universe. Dubbed SMSS J160540.18-144323.1, the star is situated around 35,000 light-years away from the Milky Way.

The star is red in color and has the lowest iron levels seen on any of the previously discovered stars. This analogy suggests that it could be the second generation of stars after the universe was born.

Since the initial days of the universe lacked resources like metal, the stars that existed at the time were humungous and hotter. They only contained hydrogen and helium. These ancient stars fall into the category called Population III and weren't discovered earlier. This is probably the first star to be discovered by astronomers which could be as old as the universe.

According to astronomer Thomas Nordlander from the Australian National University, the newly found star would've have evolved after a few million years of the Big Bang. This could be the reason it lacks iron when compared to other stars like our Sun. This is one of the major evidence of the star being from the initial days of the universe.

"This incredibly anemic 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. That's like one drop of water in an Olympic swimming pool," he said.

If the reports and scientific research are to be believed, the Sun came into existence after around 100,000 generations from the Big Bang. The age of the newly found star has been determined by the presence of iron on it. Previously only two other objects were said to have the lowest metallicity.

The Population II stars had a very short life and didn't survive long enough for the human race to study them, however, the stars that evolved later can still be discovered and researched to learn more about the early days of the universe.