Astronomers Discover a Star With the Widest Range of Elements
These elements were made by the rapid neutron capture process. During this process, an element gets additional neutrons that then “decay” into protons, which changes the atom into a new element.
A team of astronomers has discovered a distant star HD 222925 with the widest range of elements ever observed in a star beyond the Sun. HD 222925 is a star located toward the southern constellation of Tucana. The study will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
A total of 65 elements were identified in HD 222925, which is a record for celestial objects outside the solar system and makes the newly-detected star a unique one with an abundance of certain metals in its spectrum, SciTechDaily reports. Of these elements, 42 are from the bottom of the periodic table. There were even gold, silver, and other precious metals among these elements, which are quite a rare find outside the solar system.
These elements were made by the rapid neutron capture process. During this process, an element gets additional neutrons that then “decay” into protons, which changes the atom into a new element.
The new finding will help scientists better understand this process and learn how heavy elements are created in the universe.