(Yicai Global) Aug. 8 -- Chinese astronomers have discovered the most lithium-rich giant star to date, with an abundance of lithium 3,000 times higher than normal giants.

A research team led by the National Astronomical Observatories of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences recently discovered the celestial body with the help of the country's Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, reported state-backed Xinhua News Agency, citing academic journal Nature Astronomy.

The newly discovered lithium-rich star is in the direction of Ophiuchus, north side of the Galactic disk, at a distance of 4,500 lightyears from Earth.

The discovery has reportedly changed human cognition of the presence of lithium in celestial bodies and doubled the upper limit of observed lithium abundance. At the same time, this study theoretically offers a new perspective on the synthesis of lithium and the existing theory of stellar evolution.

The team found that the abundant lithiummay be a result of a special material exchange inside the star. The researchers proposed a possible explanation to the lithium-rich phenomenon by simulating its interior changes with the help of the high-resolution spectrum of the American Automated Planet Finder and the latest data from China Institute of Atomic Energy.

Editor: William Clegg