HE0107-5240
Encyclopedia
|-
! style="background-color: #FFFFC0;" colspan="2" | Astrometry
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Apparent magnitude
(V)
| 15.86
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Distance
| 36.000 Ly
HE0107-5240 is an extremely metal-poor Population II star
, located roughly 36,000 light years away from the Earth
, that has a mass of approximately
80% of the mass
of the Sun
. It is one of the most metal-poor stars known in our Galaxy, with a metallicity
[Fe/H] = -5.2 +/- 0.2; i.e. it has just 1/200,000 of the metal that the Sun has. Because of its very low metallicity, it is believed to be one of the earliest Population II stars to have formed. If so, then it is also very old, with an age of roughly 13 billion years. Because the star is not completely metal-free, it does not belong to the first generation of stars (the hypothetical Population III). These stars converted the pristine hydrogen
, helium
, and lithium
formed by the Big Bang into heavier elements, such as carbon
, oxygen
, and metal
s.
The star is relatively small for a star of the early universe
, which accounts for its old age: massive stars die quickly. To help explain why this star is so small, it is hypothesized it was once part of a binary star system.
HE0107-5240 was found by Norbert Christlieb and colleagues at the University of Hamburg
in Germany
as a byproduct of the Hamburg/ESO Survey for faint quasars with the 1m ESO Schmidt telescope. Follow up observations were made at the Siding Spring Observatory 2.3m telescope and high-resolution spectra were taken at the European Southern Observatory
in Chile
, using one of the units of the Very Large Telescope
. In 2005, a second star with an even smaller iron abundance HE1327-2326
([Fe/H]=-5.4) was found also in the Hamburg/ESO survey.
! style="background-color: #FFFFC0;" colspan="2" | Astrometry
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
(V)
| 15.86
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| Distance
Cosmic distance ladder
The cosmic distance ladder is the succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects. A real direct distance measurement of an astronomical object is possible only for those objects that are "close enough" to Earth...
| 36.000 Ly
HE0107-5240 is an extremely metal-poor Population II star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
, located roughly 36,000 light years away from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, that has a mass of approximately
80% of the mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. It is one of the most metal-poor stars known in our Galaxy, with a metallicity
Metallicity
In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium...
[Fe/H] = -5.2 +/- 0.2; i.e. it has just 1/200,000 of the metal that the Sun has. Because of its very low metallicity, it is believed to be one of the earliest Population II stars to have formed. If so, then it is also very old, with an age of roughly 13 billion years. Because the star is not completely metal-free, it does not belong to the first generation of stars (the hypothetical Population III). These stars converted the pristine hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
, and lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
formed by the Big Bang into heavier elements, such as carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
, oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, and metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s.
The star is relatively small for a star of the early universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, which accounts for its old age: massive stars die quickly. To help explain why this star is so small, it is hypothesized it was once part of a binary star system.
HE0107-5240 was found by Norbert Christlieb and colleagues at the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a byproduct of the Hamburg/ESO Survey for faint quasars with the 1m ESO Schmidt telescope. Follow up observations were made at the Siding Spring Observatory 2.3m telescope and high-resolution spectra were taken at the European Southern Observatory
European Southern Observatory
The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, using one of the units of the Very Large Telescope
Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...
. In 2005, a second star with an even smaller iron abundance HE1327-2326
HE1327-2326
HE1327-2326, discovered in 2005 by Anna Frebel and collaborators, is the star with the lowest known iron abundance to date. The star is a member of Population II, with an iron to hydrogen ratio , or metallicity, of -5.6. This number indicates that its iron content is 300,000 times less than that of...
([Fe/H]=-5.4) was found also in the Hamburg/ESO survey.
External links
- SIMBAD-Entry (SIMBADSIMBADSIMBAD is an astronomical database of objects beyond the Solar System...
) - Hamburg/ESO survey (Christlieb+, 2008)
- Relic Star Found, Pointing Way to Dawn of Time (Space.comSpace.comSpace.com is a space and astronomy news website. Its stories are often syndicated to other media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo!, and USA Today.Space.com was founded by former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs and Rich Zahradnik, in July 1999...
) - VLT UVES Observes Most Metal-Deficient Star Known (European Southern ObservatoryEuropean Southern ObservatoryThe European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
) - he0107-5240