Quote:
Originally Posted by astroron
Gary, I still reckon there is an anomaly somewhere and it will bring this star back to the pack.
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The details of the interpretation may change but there is absolutely no doubt that this is a highly unusual star, possibly unique in the Galaxy. Just looking at the spectrum (you can see it here:
https://twitter.com/annafrebel/statu...71786930130945) shows that this is no ordinary M-dwarf, such spectra are usually full of absorption lines but this has hardly any. The non-detection of iron lines means that the iron abundance must be at least 30 times lower than the previously most iron poor star known and over 12 million times lower than the iron abundance in the Sun!
Granted there are uncertainties about the exact age and ancestry of this star but that's exactly what makes it so interesting. If we can nail down the details this ancient star will tell us a lot about the generation of stars that preceded it, i.e. the very first stars in the universe.