It’s long been speculated that helium gas had existed in the universe since its earliest days, and now new research has confirmed the existence of an actual helium-evolution event.
Helium, the second-most abundant element in the universe, was first discovered in the late 19th century. Since then, evidence of helium’s existence has expanded to many aspects of space science. In recent decades, scientists have theorized that a helium-evolution event—a process in which helium gas is released from a star or other material—could have happened in the late stages of star formation.
Now, observations conducted with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have revealed evidence of this first-ever helium-evolution event. The research was recently published in the journal Nature.
Using the VLT, the research team was able to capture far-infrared light from a distant star, which revealed the presence of helium atoms and molecules around the star. This in itself isn’t noteworthy, as helium gas is incredibly common in space. What was noteworthy, however, was the amount of helium gas that had become visible around the star.
The research team then compared the amount of helium gas seen around the star to observations of other stars in the same area. They discovered that the amount of helium seen around the star was significantly higher—strong evidence that this was the result of an actual helium-evolution event.
The findings confirm that the stellar-evolution event could have happened in the late stages of star formation. But the research team also suggests that this could have been the result of an intense burst of energy in the star’s environment. This type of event could, in turn, be responsible for the creation of other elements, including carbon and oxygen, which are essential ingredients for life.
The finding of the first-ever helium-evolution event provides exciting new insight into our understanding of the universe. It also brings us one step closer to understanding how our universe was formed.
