Tracing Starlight: How Ultraviolet Observations Reveal the Heavy Elements in HD 196944

Roederer et al. used ultraviolet spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope to study HD 196944, a carbon-enhanced metal-poor star rich in s-process elements. They detected 35 heavy elements, the most ever found in such a star, and showed these likely came from a former AGB companion. Their results confirm that UV spectroscopy can reveal new details about how stars create the universe’s heaviest elements.