Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature 419, 886-887 (31 October 2002) | doi:10.1038/419886a
Astronomy: Relic of the dawn of time
Catherine A. Pilachowski
Abstract
Elements heavier than helium are synthesized in stars. But could there be stars, created soon after the Big Bang, that contain almost no heavy elements? The discovery of such a star gives new clues to this early time.
For half a century, astronomers have known that the elements of the periodic table are produced in stars1. The chemical enrichment of the Galaxy has proceeded from an early state with very low amounts of 'metals' (elements heavier than helium) to the present epoch, in which metals make up some 2–3% of the visible mass of the Milky Way2.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).