A strange star different from that found in the Milky Way could be an intruder in another galaxy

A strange star hidden in the Milky Way could be an intruder of a dwarf galaxy that has been "swallowed" by ours.

Astronomers recently discovered that the star, called J1124 + 4535, did not look like any of the other stars that surrounded it. Instead, the celestial object shares the same constellation as the famous group of stars that make up the Big Dipper.

The researchers explained, "Stars like this one have been found in today's dwarf galaxies. Provide the clearest chemical signature of past accretion events on the Milky Way. "

Scientists used a special telescope to analyze the spectrum of light emitted by the star and found that it did not contain as many chemicals containing magnesium and iron as other stars that l? around him.

This is unusual because stars form from interstellar gas clouds and it is assumed that the closely spaced stars come from the same cloud and should therefore have the same chemical composition.

A follow-up study confirmed these findings and also found that the extraterrestrial star contained a large amount of a chemical called europium – to such an extent that it contains more than just the sun.

This mix of chemicals is unlike anything we've ever seen in the rest of the Milky Way and is solid evidence that this star could be the only remnant of a galaxy gone forever.

But although this star is a rare outsider in our galaxy, it is not the only one in the Universe as other similar stars have been observed outside the Milky Way.

The study on this strange star was published in Nature Astronomy.