star 30 times size of the sun has an unexpected chemical composition
Astronomers have discovered a new star that is 30 times larger than the sun and could force a major rethink of stellar evolution theories
The star, designated J0524-0336 and located around 30,000 light-years from Earth, has a shockingly high concentration of the element lithium when compared to the sun at its current age or other stars of similarly advanced ages.
This is an issue for our understanding of how stars forge heavier elements via nuclear fusion because lithium is a light element; current models suggest light elements are lost through this process in favor of heavier elements like carbon and oxygen.
Not only is J0524-0336 rich in lithium, but it also has a corresponding lack of heavy elements.
Astronomers discovered J0524-0336 while hunting for older stars in the Milky Way. The star is in the latter stages of its life, meaning it is classed as an “evolved star,” and is swelling up, with the increase in size also making it brighter.
Following the discovery of this star, researchers set about revealing its chemical composition using a method called spectroscopy. Because different elements emit and absorb light at characteristic wavelengths, looking at a star’s light output, or “spectra,” can reveal its composition and the ratio of elements it contains.
“We found that J0524-0336 contains 100,000 times more lithium than the sun does at its current age,” team leader and University of Florida researcher Rana Ezzeddine said in a statement. “This amount challenges the prevailing models of how stars evolve and may suggest a previously unknown mechanism for lithium production or retention in stars.”
An unknown stage in stellar evolution — or something else?
The team isn’t completely in the dark about this star’s usual chemical composition.
They have a few potential hypotheses to explain why J0524-0336 is so unusual. One possibility is that the star may be in a stage of stellar evolution that has never been observed before.
Alternatively, when the star swelled up, it may have enveloped an orbiting planet or even a nearby star. If that celestial body was rich in lithium, it may have infused J0524-0336 with the element.
And, if such absorption happened relatively recently, J0524-0336 may not had the time needed to fuse that lithium to heavier elements. Ezzeddine suggested that the lithium content of J0524-0336 is so great that both mechanisms may have been at play.
The team will need to continue to observe the star to determine which mechanism is behind this unusual result, or whether it is indeed both — or if the culprit is something else entirely.
Ezzeddine and colleagues now intend to continue studying J0524-0336, hoping to conduct a continuous monitoring program to see if and how its composition changes.
“If we find a build-up of dust in the star’s circumstellar disk, or the ring of debris and materials being ejected from the star, this would clearly indicate a mass loss event, such as a stellar interaction,” Ezzeddine concluded. “If we don’t observe such a disk, we could conclude that the lithium enrichment is happening due to a process, still to be discovered, taking place inside the star instead.”
The team’s research is published on the research repository arXiv and is set to be featured in The Astrophysical Journal.
See more here space.com
Header image: Meteo Giomale
Please Donate Below To Support Our Ongoing Work To Defend The Scientific Method
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Trackback from your site.
Herb Rose
| #
The theory about stars is backwards. There is no fusion only fission. Energy is attracted to mass, specifically positive mass and repels negative charged matter. This is why neutrons (which are electron-proton molecules) decay quickly when not in a nucleus.
Suns start out as large conglomerates of matter (neutrons). Energy then converts this matter into atoms which are a combination energy and matter.
If a nucleus has an outer surface composed of protons with, electrons in the center, it becomes stable as the force of energy compresses it (there is no strong nuclear force). If there aren’t enough electrons in the center the repelling force between the protons allows the energy to split the nucleus, producing smaller elements. If there are too many electrons within the nucleus and one appears on the surface the energy around the nucleus will expel the electron (beta decay) producing a larger element.
Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the ashes produced initially by a star. Later larger elements are formed and when the level of these larger. elements on the sun’s surface gets to thick, it explodes casting the heavier elements into space creating trash piles called planets. The sun, now cleared of stable large elements, is now able to again produce more hydrogen, helium, and lithium ash.
Why is an alpha molecule so stable? Because the tetrahedral protons around the interior two electrons prevent further decay.
Reply
Tom
| #
It’s nice to see dogmatic science questioned by new discoveries. Here on earth, lithium is just another political football.
Reply
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi PSI Readers,
Can someone tell me how to determine the age of a star?
Have a good day
Reply
aaron
| #
… and globe earth is a spinning ball, racing thru ‘space’ with curved water
Reply
S.C.
| #
The new scientific method – Don’t tweak a beloved theory to fit new evidence. If the two don’t align, tweak the evidence. If necessary, you can even claim that 98% of the universe is mystery matter which cannot be seen and does not interact with normal matter save the influence of gravity. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Reply
Joe
| #
More lies from the Khazarian Mafia!
Reply