SMSS J031300.36-670839.3

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Star
SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 (or SM0313)
OldestStar-SM0313-SMSSJ031300366708393-20140210.jpg
SMSS J031300.36-670839.3
AladinLite
Observation
dates equinox :  J2000.0 , epoch : J2000.0
Constellation Little water snake
Right ascension 03 h 13 m 0.36 s
declination -67 ° 08 ′ 39.3 ″
Apparent brightness 14.7 mag
Typing
Spectral class K9 V
Astrometry
distance 6,000  ly
1,840  pc
Physical Properties
Effective temperature 5125  K
Metallicity [Fe / H] ≤ − 7.41
Age 13.6 G  a
Other names
and catalog entries
Other names SMSS J031300.36-670839.3

SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 (abbreviated SM0313 ) is a star in the Milky Way . It is 6,000 light years from Earth . With an estimated age of 13.6 billion years, it is the oldest known star in the universe according to HD 140283 . The star formed around 220 million years after the Big Bang and has been glowing for 13.6 billion years. Compared to the sun , it contains at most one ten millionth of iron ( metallicity ). This suggests that the star is one of the first Population II stars to be formed from gas clouds that were enriched with heavy elements by the very first stars. SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 also contains a relatively large amount of carbon compared to iron (more than a thousand times more than usual). In addition to hydrogen and helium , which were formed during the Big Bang, the star also consists of carbon, magnesium and calcium . These elements are formed in supernovae . The star shows absorption lines of methine (CH). Oxygen and nitrogen could not be detected. SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 belongs to the group of dwarf stars of the spectral class K and is therefore somewhat less massive than the sun.

The star was discovered by astronomers at the Australian National University . The discovery, published in the journal Nature on February 9, 2014, suggests that the supernovae of the first generation of stars were not as energetic as assumed.

The discovery was made possible by the SkyMapper - a fully automated, optical telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran , New South Wales , Australia . SkyMapper was built to replace the Great Melbourne Telescope on Mount Stromlo , which was destroyed by a bushfire in 2003 .

Element abundance compared to the sun
element M / H
lithium 0.7
carbon −2.6
magnesium −3.8
calcium −7

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Larissa Nicholson: New star found by ANU researchers may lead to universal truth . The Sydney Morning Herald . February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Amanda Kooser: Astronomers track down oldest known star in the universe . CBS Interactive Inc. February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Stuart Gary: Oldest known star reveals early Universe . In: StarStuff . ABC Science. February 12, 2014. Accessed March 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ a b c d Researchers identify one of the earliest stars in the universe . Massachusetts Institute of Technology . February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  5. ^ A b c Curtis Brainard: The Archeology of the Stars . In: New York Times , February 10, 2014. 
  6. ↑ a b Stefan Keller: The oldest star discovery tells much about the early universe . The Conversation Media Group. February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  7. ↑ a b c S. C. Keller, MS Bessell u. a .: A single low-energy, iron-poor supernova as the source of metals in the star SMSS J031300.36-670839.3. In: Nature. Volume 506, number 7489, February 2014, ISSN  1476-4687 , pp. 463-466, doi : 10.1038 / nature12990 , PMID 24509711 .
  8. ↑ Miller, Barbara: SkyMapper telescope to explore southern sky . In: ABC PM , May 25, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2012.