Overview
- A Nature Astronomy study reports SDSS J0715−7334 as the new record holder for stellar purity, making it the most metal-poor star measured to date.
- Spectra show less than 0.005% of the Sun’s heavy elements, with exceptionally low iron and carbon, which is about twice as metal-poor as the prior record.
- The star sits roughly 80,000 light-years from Earth, and Gaia data indicate it migrated into the Milky Way from outside the galaxy.
- Researchers first flagged the target in Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, then confirmed its chemistry with high-resolution observations at the Magellan telescopes in April 2025.
- The finding points to a likely second-generation relic that tightens limits on early supernova yields and tests whether cosmic dust was needed to form small, long-lived stars.