A new study by Chinese scientists has confirmed for the first time the existence of first-generation stars 260 times the size of the sun, finding evidence for the existence of double instability supernovae (PISNe) that evolved from the first stars to emerge in the early universe.
Whether there were first-generation supermassive stars at the beginning of the universe 13,8 billion years ago has long been a mystery to the scientific community. After years of research, Chinese scientists have discovered for the first time evidence of the existence of first-generation supermassive stars, thus proving the existence of the oldest stars.
Scientific research results were published today in the international academic journal Nature. The science research team of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out related research studies using the Guo Shoujing Telescope located in Hebei province.
With the spectra of millions of stars obtained through the telescope, the researchers found a stellar remnant of about 3,327 solar masses around the Milky Way galaxy, about 0,5 light-years from Earth. Studies show that, in addition to being extremely low in metal content, the star has the theoretical characteristics of second-generation stars that appear after first-generation stars have ended.