Science / Medicine : Oldest ‘Living’ Stars in Milky Way Identified

Astronomers have identified what appear to be the oldest “living” stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and they appear to be nearly as old as the universe itself. The Milky Way is the galaxy of which the Earth and the sun are a part.

Living stars are those that still burn hydrogen by nuclear reaction. Scientists told the American Astronomical Society in Philadelphia last week that the old stars are so deficient in heavy metals that they must have formed from pristine material shortly after the birth of the Milky Way.

The old stars are judged to be between 15 billion and 20 billion years old, said astronomer Timothy C. Beers of Michigan State University. By sifting through data on several hundred thousand stars, the researchers identified 70 that appear to be that old, a surprisingly high number, Beers said.

By contrast, the sun is less than 5 billion years old.