Feature
Anna Frebel digs a young universe
Stellar archaeologist has turned up stars from the second generation ever to form
Astronomer Anna Frebel has discovered record-breaking stars, including the most pristine in the galaxy.
Bryce Vickmark
Anna Frebel, 36
Astronomer
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Anna Frebel can’t explain her fascination with the stars. It’d be like explaining why “berry purple-pink” is one of her favorite colors. “They are just a part of me,” says Frebel, an astronomer at MIT. “What’s going on with them and what they can tell us — there is something magical.”
Frebel’s fascination has led to the discovery of at least three record-breaking stars. Dating back roughly 13 billion years, the stars — all within the Milky Way galaxy — might be elders from the second generation of
