Story perspectives

UChicago Students Discover Ancient Star During Observatory Trip

4/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

The University of Chicago undergraduate students identified SDSS J0715-7334 using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, making it one of the oldest known stars.
The star formed in the Large Magellanic Cloud and contains 0.005 percent of the Sun's metal content.
The discovery occurred during a spring break trip to Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.
The students' involvement inspires them to pursue astronomy, underscoring hands-on research.

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Story summary

The University of Chicago undergraduate students identified SDSS J0715-7334 using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, making it one of the oldest known stars.
The star formed in the Large Magellanic Cloud and contains 0.005 percent of the Sun's metal content.
The discovery occurred during a spring break trip to Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.
The students' involvement inspires them to pursue astronomy, underscoring hands-on research.