Scientists have come closer to understanding how different chemical elements are found around stars that are part of supermassive clusters.
Astronomers have proposed a new theory that attempts to explain the existence of peculiar chemical elements in ancient clusters of stars called globular clusters. Globular clusters are ancient compact clusters of hundreds of thousands of stars clumped tightly together via gravity which were formed 11-13 billion years ago, just a few cosmic moments after the Big Bang.
Around 150 of these clusters have been spotted sitting at the outer regions of the Milky Way, Tech Times reported on Friday. The researchers wanted to know why the stars found in these clusters have different chemical elements than others found in open clusters. Aside from the significantly higher amounts of helium and hydrogen, stars in globular clusters also have heavier concentration of heavy elements than other stars such as the Sun.
Astronomers have proposed a new theory that attempts to explain the existence of peculiar chemical elements in ancient clusters of stars called globular clusters. Globular clusters are ancient compact clusters of hundreds of thousands of stars clumped tightly together via gravity which were formed 11-13 billion years ago, just a few cosmic moments after the Big Bang.
Around 150 of these clusters have been spotted sitting at the outer regions of the Milky Way, Tech Times reported on Friday. The researchers wanted to know why the stars found in these clusters have different chemical elements than others found in open clusters. Aside from the significantly higher amounts of helium and hydrogen, stars in globular clusters also have heavier concentration of heavy elements than other stars such as the Sun.