Ultra‑Poor Star PicII-503 Illuminates the Universe’s Dawn
Astronomers have identified PicII-503, an extremely iron-poor Population II star in the ultra-old dwarf galaxy Pictor II, about 150,000 light-years away. Its iron abundance is about 43,000 times lower than the Sun and calcium about 160,000 times lower, while its carbon is vastly enriched, suggesting it formed from gas enriched by the very first stars. As the most iron-poor star found outside the Milky Way, PicII-503 offers a rare glimpse into early nucleosynthesis and the remnants of Population III stars; it was discovered via the MAGIC survey using the Dark Energy Camera and is reported in Nature Astronomy.
