Phosphorus is one of the key ingredients in making life possible. But compared to other elements which life on Earth depends on — namely, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur — phosphorus is less abundant than these elements. And so, scientists were really surprised when they discovered a new type of star, one that is rich in the aforementioned element. Currently, scientists do not know exactly what type of stellar process paves the way to the creation of phosphorus, which is why they were so puzzled with this recent discovery.
What happened to these stars that made them so rich with phosphorus?
“The paper is all about exploring all possibilities and ruling out all of them,” said Masseron. “Basically, the answer is we don’t know.”
Check out the story over at Vice.com.
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