Scientists May Have Finally Solved The Sun's Missing Silver Mystery
Astrophysicists have used supercomputer modeling to determine that the Sun contains 55 percent more silver than previously estimated. This finding reconciles the discrepancy between the chemical composition of the Sun and ancient meteorites.
Why it matters
Accurate solar composition data is essential for understanding the chemical evolution of the Milky Way and the life cycles of stars.
Add ScienceAlert on Google (NASA/Unsplash) The curious case of the solar system's missing silver has had scientists scratching their heads for years.
Why do ancient meteorite fragments contain much more silver than the Sun, if they were formed at the same time, some 4.6 billion years ago?
If they formed at the same time, from the same swirling mass of dust and gas, they should have similar ingredients. Now a study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics from a team of international researchers may have the answer…
There's a lot more silver in the Sun than we previously thought.
We're only talking a small amount overall, as 98.5 percent of the Sun's mass is made up of hydrogen and helium . However, according to the new calculations, there's 55 percent more silver in our star than past studies had concluded.
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