SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. Photograph by Iridia
Scientists from Australian National University (ANU) have found the oldest known star in the universe, with their discovery published in the journal Nature.
The star formed shortly after the Big Bang, around 13.7 billion years ago, and offers astronomers a chance to study the chemistry of the first stars.
Dr Stefan Keller of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics said:
“This is the first time that we’ve been able to unambiguously say that we’ve found the chemical fingerprint of a first star,” said lead researcher”
The star was discovered using the ANU SkyMapper telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, and is around 6,000 light years from Earth. The discovery was then confirmed by the Magellan telescope in Chile.
