Astronomers have observed an exceptional star believed to be the purest celestial body in the universe, characterized by its unique chemical composition that mimics the first stars in the cosmos.

A team led by Alexander Ji from the University of Chicago stated that the star, named SDSS J0715-7334, offers a glimpse into the earliest stars formed shortly after the Big Bang.

The star originates from a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, located about 163,000 light-years from the Milky Way. Since then, it has migrated to the Milky Way’s halo, making it, according to scientists, a “galactic migrant.”

What makes it so pure is its lack of contamination by elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. It contains only 0.8 parts per million of heavy elements, making it about 20,000 times purer than the Sun.

This composition makes it a potential candidate for being one of the first stars in the universe, as astronomers previously assumed such stars had long exploded due to their lack of heavier elements.

Its existence indicates that there are specific places in the universe with different environments that allow stars to cool without the need for elements like carbon.

The scientists explained in a research paper under review that the first stars in the universe formed from completely pure gas, making them so massive that none survived to the present day.

The research team clarified that if those first stars had produced smaller stars, they might still exist today and could be identified by containing the lowest metallicity (elements heavier than helium).

They added: “The stars with the lowest known metallicity are found in the thick disk of our Milky Way… Now, we reveal the discovery and detailed analysis of the most metal-poor star found so far, the red giant star SDSS J0715-7334.”

The scientists concluded: “This star has the purest chemical composition known for any celestial body in the universe to date.”

The preliminary research paper titled “A Nearly Pure Star from the Large Magellanic Cloud” was published on arXiv.