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The Solar Oxygen Crisis

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the clearing-the-air dept.

Astrophysicist writes "The Astrophysical Journal this week published an article about the abundance of oxygen in the Sun. Oxygen is the third most abundant atom in the universe, behind hydrogen and helium. Most of the hydrogen and helium was formed in the Big Bang, which means that oxygen is the element most frequently produced by nuclear fusion reactions in the interior of the stars. The solar abundance of oxygen, which is key in astrophysics because of its use as a calibration reference for other objects, was thought to be well established since the 80s. However, recent evidence indicates that it has been overestimated by almost a factor of two. A revision of the solar oxygen abundance would have a cascading effect on other important elements, such as carbon, nitrogen and neon, whose abundance is only known relative to that of oxygen. In addition to the impact on the chemical composition of many stars, models of solar interior may require some reworking in order to be consistent with the new data."

2 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. This just in... by Quarters · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    Humans once again find out that they don't know nearly as much about anything as previously thought. Don't panic, though, folks. They will still use their miniscule amount of knowledge to extrapolate seemingly dire trends and predict yet another impending global catastrophe.

    * Global Cooling is going to lead to another Ice Age! Wait...that was 30 years ago... Now it's GLOBAL WARMING IS GOING TO GET US!!!

    * Electromagnetic Radiation Causes Cancer! Don't live near power lines!! Wait...that was 20 years ago... Now it's BUY THESE MAGNETIC BRACELETS AND MATRESS PADS! MAGNETISM LEADS TO HEALTH AND PROSPERITY!

  2. Re:Only a Abstract? by kestasjk · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    You're at the wrong site.. Help me think of ways that this is Microsoft's fault, or a good car analogy to explain it to a layman, or a way to turn it into a debate about religion, and if all else fails look for spelling and grammar mistakes.

    --
    // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);