1
May 2003
Astronomy: Extragalactic elements
A distant protogalaxy at redshift 2.626, recently discovered along the sightline of a background quasar, is an ideal target for sensitive spectroscopic observations of the products of nucleosynthesis. Abundances of more than 25 elements have been determined, the first time that heavier elements have been detected outside our Galaxy or one of its near neighbours. This extragalactic 'chemistry set' includes the elements Ge, Ga, Pb, Sn, B, Cl and Kr. Nucleosynthesis has occurred mainly in massive stars (over 15 solar masses), and the protogalaxy is typical of a progenitor of a massive elliptical galaxy.
The elemental abundance pattern in a galaxy at z
= 2.626
JASON X. PROCHASKA, J. CHRISTOPHER HOWK
& ARTHUR M. WOLFE
Nature 423, 57–59 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01524
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Astronomy: Elements of surprise
JOHN
COWAN
The discovery of a very distant galaxy for which the abundances of around
25 elements can be measured promises new insight into the history of element creation
and star formation in the Universe.
Nature 423, 29 (2003); doi:10.1038/423029a
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