New Model Lifts Sun's Silver Estimate 55%, Resolving Decades-Old Meteorite Gap
Updated
Updated · Universe Today · Jul 20
New Model Lifts Sun's Silver Estimate 55%, Resolving Decades-Old Meteorite Gap
2 articles · Updated · Universe Today · Jul 20
Summary
A revised analysis led by Sema Caliskan found the Sun contains 55% more silver than earlier estimates, largely eliminating a long-standing mismatch with meteorites formed from the same 4.6 billion-year-old cloud.
The increase came from a more realistic solar-atmosphere model that captures turbulence, improved atomic physics for silver, and the effect of radiation on the atoms producing spectral absorption lines.
Earlier measurements had relied on oversimplified models, causing astronomers to underestimate silver when decoding the Sun's light spectrum.
Because the Sun is the benchmark for stellar composition, the result matters beyond one element; the team plans to apply the method to other stars to trace where silver and similar elements formed across the Milky Way.