ASTRONOMERS have spotted a lithium-rich giant star that may have just
swallowed a planet or a brown dwarf.
Luca Pasquini of the European Southern Observatory in Chile found the
two-billion-year-old star, named S50, from observations with a fibre-optic
spectroscope. Stars normally burn their lithium quickly, but this one contains
100 to 1000 times more lithium than expected.
鈥淪o far S50 does not show any special features,鈥� says Pasquini. Astronomers
believe that the extra lithium may have come from a large planet or brown dwarf
that recently fell into the star鈥檚 atmosphere.
Advertisement
