Solar Breakthrough: Scientists Redefine the Sun’s Elemental Blueprint

Solar and cosmochemical data indicate high levels of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in the Sun.

Researchers have unveiled a new solar composition that integrates recent data from Kuiper Belt objects, asteroids, comets, and solar measurements. This groundbreaking analysis, which connects spectroscopic data with helioseismology findings, suggests higher levels of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in the sun than previously estimated.

A team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists has combined compositional data from primitive bodies such as Kuiper Belt objects, asteroids, and comets with new solar data to develop a revised solar composition. This updated model could, for the first time, reconcile two crucial methods of studying the Sun: spectroscopy and helioseismology. While helioseismology analyzes the Sun’s internal waves to probe its interior, spectroscopy examines the Sun’s surface, identifying elements through their unique spectral signatures.

Research Findings and Methodology

The study, published in the AAS Astrophysical Journal, tackles the long-standing issue known as the “solar abundances” problem.

“This is the first time this kind of interdisciplinary analysis has been done, and our broad data set suggests more abundant levels of solar carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen than previously thought,” explained Dr. Ngoc Truong, an SwRI postdoctoral researcher. “Solar system formation models using the new solar composition successfully reproduce the compositions of large Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, in light of the newly returned Ryugu and Bennu asteroid samples from JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx missions.”

Data Sources and Predictive Value

To make this discovery, the team combined new measurements of solar neutrinos and data about the solar wind composition from NASA’s Genesis mission, together with the abundance of water found in primitive meteorites that originated in the outer solar system. They also used the densities of large KBOs such as Pluto and its moon Charon, as determined by NASA’s New Horizons mission.

“This work provides testable predictions for future helioseismology, solar neutrino, and cosmochemical measurements, including future comet sample return missions,” Truong said. “The solar composition is used to calibrate other stars and understand the composition and formation of solar system objects. These breakthroughs will enhance our understanding of the primordial solar nebula’s chemistry and the formation of numerous solar system bodies.”

Implications for Solar System Formation

The team examined the role of refractory, tar-like organic compounds as a major carrier of carbon in the protosolar nebula. Solar system formation models using measurements of organics from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the most widely adopted solar composition ratios did not produce the dense, rocky Pluto-Charon system.

“With this research, we think we finally understand the mix of chemical elements that made the solar system,” said SwRI’s Dr. Christopher Glein, an expert in planetary geochemistry. “It has more carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen than what is currently assumed. This new knowledge gives us a firmer basis for understanding what element abundances in giant planet atmospheres can tell us about the formation of planets. We already have our eyes on Uranus — NASA’s next target destination — and beyond.”

Extended Research Impact and Future Directions

In the search for habitable exoplanets, scientists measure the abundances of elements in stars spectroscopically to infer what a star’s orbiting planets are made of, using the stellar composition as a proxy for its planets.

“Our findings will significantly affect our understanding of the formation and evolution of other stars and planetary systems, and even further, they enable a broader perspective of galactic chemical evolution,” said Truong.

Reference: “A Broad Set of Solar and Cosmochemical Data Indicates High C-N-O Abundances for the Solar System” by Ngoc Truong, Christopher R. Glein and Jonathan I. Lunine, 12 November 2024, The Astrophysical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad7a65

A Cornell University-affiliated scientist contributed to the research, which was supported by SwRI’s Internal Research and Development program and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

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