An Element That's Rare On Earth Is Found Far, Far Away

A team of researchers has detected the element tellurium for the first time in three ancient stars. The researchers found traces of this brittle, semiconducting element--which is very rare on Earth--in stars that are nearly 12 billion years old. The finding supports the theory that tellurium, along with even heavier elements in the periodic table, likely originated from a very rare type of supernova during a rapid process of nuclear fusion.