metallicity
Can Webb Find the First Stars in the Universe?
The Universe's very first stars had an important job. They formed from the primordial elements created by the Big Bang,…
Adolescent Galaxies are Incandescent and Contain Unexpected Elements
If the Universe has adolescent galaxies, they're the ones that formed about 2 to 3 billion years after the Big…
We Can't See the First Stars Yet, but We Can See Their Direct Descendants
The first stars in the Universe were enormous, made of primordial hydrogen and helium from the Big Bang. They lived…
A Star was Blocking a Galaxy, but Now it’s Moved Enough That Astronomers can Finally Examine What it Was Hiding
One of the biggest puzzles in astronomy, and one of the hardest ones to solve, concerns the formation and evolution…
Jupiter is up to 9% Rock and Metal, Which Means it Ate a lot of Planets in its Youth
Jupiter is composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. The amounts of each closely conform to the theoretical quantities in…
The Large Magellanic Cloud Stole one of its Globular Clusters
Astronomers have known for years that galaxies are cannibalistic. Massive galaxies like our own Milky Way have gained mass by…
Why do Planetary Nebulae Look the Way They Do?
Planetary nebulae are the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Their gossamer shells of gas are otherworldly and evocative.…
Some of the Milky Way’s oldest stars aren’t where they’re expected to be
Some of the oldest stars in our galaxy have orbits similar to the Sun, and we don't know why
The Spherical Structure at the Core of the Milky Way Formed in a Single Burst of Star Formation
Like other spiral galaxies, the Milky Way has a bulging sphere of stars in its center. It's called "The Bulge,"…
Searching for Phosphorus in Other Stars
The Search for Life can be a lot messier than it sounds. The three words make a nice, tidy title,…