Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey team discover 'new' ancient stars in the Milky Way
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A few of the shimmering stars that adorn the skies of Earth are remnants from the early stages of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Astronomers have now identified one such population of ancient stars located at the heart of our galaxy. The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) team used several telescopes to conduct the largest comprehensive observations of these old stars in our galaxy, according to a press release.
The slow-spinning ancient stars
The findings indicate that the stars are "slowly spinning" around the inner galactic center, where they spend nearly their entire lives.
It is believed that these stars underwent a turbulent formation, with some emerging within a few billion years after the Big Bang.
“It is exciting to think that we are seeing stars that formed in the earliest phases of the Milky Way, previously largely out of reach. These stars likely formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang, so are relics from the early Universe,” said PIGS team member Dr. Anke Arentsen from the University of Cambridge.
These primordial stars are predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium, with significantly lower metal content compared to younger stars such as the Sun.
Astronomers often examine these cosmic living fossils to gain a better understanding of the evolution as well as the early years of our Milky Way galaxy. Additionally, examining the chemical makeup of these stars could reveal information about the early phases of the universe.
Ancient stars were confirmed using Anglo-Australian Telescope data
According to the Royal Astronomical Society, scientists look for these old stars in the low-density halo that surrounds our galaxy and is generally dust-free.
Although, numerous computational-based galaxy formation models have suggested the presence of these ancient stars in the Milky Way's dense inner parts.
“Finding them in this region is challenging as our line of sight to the center of the Galaxy is blocked by large amounts of interstellar dust, and ancient stars are extremely rare compared to the overwhelming majority of their younger peers,” said the statement.
An image filter on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) was used to analyze selected candidate stars for this observation. The presence of ancient stars was confirmed using Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) spectroscopic data.
The PIGS team also combined the collected data with the Gaia space mission to ascertain the movement of these stars in the galaxy.
This resulted in one of the most detailed observations of pristine inner galaxy stars to date.
This new research will be presented at the University of Cardiff's National Astronomy Meeting 2023.
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