We are aware that mystery abounds in space. The recent discovery of a solar system that is very different from our own cosmic home by scientists adds curiosity.
The white dwarf star, which is the surviving heated core of a dead star similar to the sun, was discovered by researchers to be almost 10 billion years old.
It is located 90 light-years away and is surrounded by a cemetery of fragments of planets known as planetesimals. These objects' debris has been drawn in by the dim star.
But this solar system is unique compared to our surroundings. Elements like lithium and potassium are abundant there.
Why was this early solar system in our Milky Way galaxy so distinct from other solar systems? How did it acquire a wealth of these materials, which were at the time uncommon?
Abbigail Elms, a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick who studies white dwarfs, told Mashable, "It is a complete enigma."