Metallicity by MagikUnicorn

Bryce • Space • posted on Dec 08, 2014

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Description

In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity (also designated Z) of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium. Because stars, which comprise most of the visible matter in the universe, are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, astronomers use for convenience the blanket term "metal" to describe all other elements collectively. Thus, a nebula rich in carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and neon would be "metal-rich" in astrophysical terms even though those elements are non-metals in chemistry. This term should not be confused with the usual definition of "metal"; metallic bonds are impossible within stars, and the very strongest chemical bonds are only possible in the outer layers of cool K and M stars. Earth-like chemistry therefore has little or no relevance in stellar interiors. The metallicity of an astronomical object may provide an indication of its age. When the universe first formed, according to the Big Bang theory, it consisted almost entirely of hydrogen which, through primordial nucleosynthesis, created a sizeable proportion of helium and only trace amounts of lithium and beryllium and no heavier elements. Therefore, older stars generally have lower metallicities than younger stars such as our Sun. :)

Comments (30)

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Faemike55

9:53PM | Mon, 08 December 2014

Great image and cool narrative neat thing about Renderosity is one can learn just about anything in the world

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bebopdlx

10:00PM | Mon, 08 December 2014

Cool looking, I agree with Mike, luv all the stuph I learn.

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RodS

10:01PM | Mon, 08 December 2014

WOOOOW! What a stunning image, Real! I love this kind of stuff - what a treat it would be to spend an afternoon with Micheo Kaku and/or Stephen Hawking..

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peedy

11:32PM | Mon, 08 December 2014

Beautiful image, MU. Corrie

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giulband

12:29AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Absolutely suggestive !!!!!!!

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ansgar2

2:01AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

EXCELLENT

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mininessie

2:07AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

wow! fantastic image....and thanks so much for the interesting info!

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jayfar

2:10AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Looks really Alien Magik.

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Jean_C

2:40AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Un superbe et étonnant "ciel", et de magnifiques reflets! Les infos sont très intéressantes, merci :-)

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Leije

3:36AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Magnifique avec ce rouge profond ! et merci pour les infos !

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Robert_S

4:17AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

outstanding!

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Cyve

6:16AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Merveilleuse creation avec de fabuleuses couleurs !!!

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eekdog

6:23AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

superb info and cool work.

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magnus073

7:18AM | Tue, 09 December 2014

Magik, esta es una maravillosa presentación que ha creado. Disfruté learing sobre (Metallicity) y la lectura de la información. Su galería es increíble y educativo.

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