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Barnard's Loop

Barnard's Loop is a vast emission nebula in the constellation Orion, manifesting as a prominent semicircular arc of ionized hydrogen gas that partially encircles the Orion Nebula and the three stars of Orion's Belt.^[1] Spanning an angular diameter of approximately 10 degrees—roughly the width of a closed fist held at arm's length—it is one of the largest known structures in the Orion molecular cloud complex, a prolific star-forming region about 1,300 light-years from Earth.^[2]^[3] The nebula glows red in hydrogen-alpha light due to excitation by ultraviolet radiation from nearby massive, hot stars, and it is best observed under dark skies using wide-field instruments and narrowband filters.^[1] First photographed and systematically described by American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard in 1894, the structure bears his name and was cataloged as Sharpless 2-276.^[1] Earlier visual observations may date back to William Herschel in 1786, who noted diffuse nebulosity in the region, though Barnard's wide-field photography at Mount Hamilton revealed its full arc-like extent.^[2] Physically, Barnard's Loop encloses a volume estimated at 300 to 500 light-years across, with distance measurements varying between 500 and 1,500 light-years based on spectroscopic and Gaia parallax data.^[4]^[2] Modern research, including 3D mapping of the interstellar medium, indicates that Barnard's Loop originated from the expanding shell of one or more supernova explosions in a young stellar cluster roughly 2 to 4 million years ago.^[4] This event carved out a large cavity in the surrounding molecular cloud, sweeping up gas into dense shells that now emit light as the shockwave interacts with ambient material.^[4] Evidence includes the presence of high-velocity runaway stars like AE Aurigae, ejected from the Orion region by the supernova, and kinematic data showing expansion velocities of about 12–15 km/s.^[2] These supernovae not only shaped Barnard's Loop but also triggered subsequent star formation by compressing gas clouds, contributing to the ongoing activity in the Orion complex.^[4] Observationally, the nebula's low surface brightness makes it challenging for small telescopes, but it has been imaged extensively by missions like Hubble, revealing intricate filaments and embedded young stars.^[3] Its structure integrates with other Orion features, such as the Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula, forming a dynamic superbubble influenced by multiple stellar feedback processes.^[1] Ongoing studies using radio and infrared surveys continue to refine models of its evolution, highlighting its role in understanding feedback from massive stars in galactic star-forming regions.^[4]

Discovery and History

Early Observations

The possible first observation of the nebulous arc now known as Barnard's Loop occurred on February 1, 1786, when William Herschel noted a faint, milky nebulosity during his systematic sweeps of the Orion region using his 20-foot reflector telescope.^[5] This sighting, recorded in sweep 518, described the feature as part of a broader field affected with diffuse, irregular brightness, visible only under optimal dark-sky conditions and wide-field viewing.^[5] Herschel's observation was incorporated into his early catalogs of nebulae, including his detailed sweep records, but the arc was not distinctly separated from the surrounding diffuse glow of Orion's extensive nebulous fields. In 1811, he published a list of fifty-two fields of extensive diffused nebulosity, designating this region as number 27 and characterizing it as "affected with milky nebulosity," emphasizing its faint and sprawling nature across a large portion of the constellation. Although later compilations like the New General Catalogue drew from Herschel's work, the arc remained blended with Orion's overall hazy appearance and lacked a dedicated entry.^[6] Throughout the 19th century, astronomers frequently mentioned a large arc-like nebulosity encircling the Orion Belt stars in their accounts of the constellation's intricate gaseous structures, often highlighting its irregular, bow-shaped form without assigning a specific designation.^[6] Historical descriptions from the 1780s to the 1890s consistently portrayed it as a subtle, elongated feature best appreciated in wide-field telescopic views, where its faint glow contributed to the perceived depth and complexity of Orion's stellar and nebulous backdrop.^[5] These visual reports laid the groundwork for later photographic confirmations that clarified the arc's distinct morphology.^[6]

Barnard's Identification

Edward Emerson Barnard, a pioneering astrophotographer, formally described and sketched the large arc of nebulosity now known as Barnard's Loop in a 1894 publication, building on an earlier photographic detection by William H. Pickering in 1889. Although American astronomer William H. Pickering had noted the nebulosity on a photographic plate taken in 1889 and published in 1890, Barnard's work provided the first detailed description and sketch.^[2]^[7] He detailed observations from exposures taken with a small short-focus camera attached to the 12-inch refractor at Lick Observatory, capturing faint emissions invisible to visual observers and revealing a vast, diffuse structure encircling Orion's belt stars and the θ¹ Orionis region.^[7] This technique, emblematic of late-19th-century advancements, allowed Barnard to document ethereal features that transformed understandings of interstellar matter, far beyond the limitations of earlier telescopic surveys.^[7] Barnard's account included a detailed sketch illustrating the nebulosity's prominent semicircular form, with measurements indicating an apparent diameter of roughly 10 degrees across the sky, arching prominently to the east and south of the Orion Nebula while fading into fainter extensions.^[7] He emphasized the loop's uniform faintness and gaseous appearance on the negatives, obtained during two-hour exposures on October 3 and 24, 1894, underscoring how photography unveiled the full extent of this previously elusive phenomenon.^[7] The feature gained its eponymous name, "Barnard's Loop," informally in astronomical circles shortly following his description, honoring his pivotal role in its recognition, though Barnard himself referred to it simply as the "great photographic nebula of Orion."^[2] In the mid-20th century, it received formal catalog designation as Sharpless 2-276 (Sh 2-276) within Stewart Sharpless's comprehensive survey of H II regions. Barnard's work built on prior vague visual reports, such as William Herschel's 1786 noting of nebulous patches in the region, without direct attribution in his publication.^[7]

Location and Visibility

Position in Orion

Barnard's Loop is situated in the constellation Orion, with its center at equatorial coordinates of right ascension 05h 27m 30.0s and declination −03° 58′ 00″ (J2000 epoch).^[8] It forms a prominent arc of emission nebulosity that is centered on the Orion Nebula (M42) and encloses the three stars of Orion's Belt—Alnitak (ζ Orionis), Alnilam (ε Orionis), and Mintaka (δ Orionis)—extending from near ζ Orionis southward and westward while curving northward toward λ Orionis (Meissa).^[9] This geometric arrangement positions the loop as a structural envelope around key features of the southern Orion region, highlighting its role in the local stellar architecture.^[3] In galactic terms, Barnard's Loop lies at coordinates of longitude l = 206.7228° and latitude b = −20.4566°, placing it within the Orion Arm, a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way that hosts active star-forming regions.^[8] The nebula's apparent size spans approximately 10° across the sky, rendering it one of the largest emission structures observable from Earth and emphasizing its expansive footprint in the Orion star-forming complex.^[2] As part of the broader Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, it serves as an ionized shell enveloping multiple molecular clouds in this vicinity.^[9]

Observational Challenges

Barnard's Loop presents significant observational challenges due to its very faint surface brightness, which necessitates exceptionally dark skies and minimal light pollution for any detection.^[10] Under ideal conditions, such as those found at remote observing sites with Bortle class 1 or 2 skies, experienced observers may glimpse portions of the structure using averted vision with the naked eye, though it remains elusive even then.^[2] The nebula is best visible during the winter months from northern latitudes, when Orion rises high in the evening sky, with optimal conditions peaking around February; however, its subtlety is often masked by the brighter stars and nebulae of Orion's Belt and Sword, which dominate the field of view.^[2] Effective visual observation typically requires wide-field instruments like binoculars with apertures of 50 mm or larger, or low-power telescopes, paired with narrowband Hα filters to boost contrast against the night sky background.^[11] Historically, prior to the advent of photography in the late 19th century, the loop's low contrast rendered it invisible to most observers, despite its vast apparent size spanning much of Orion.^[11] The arc shape of Barnard's Loop, confirming its position encircling the Orion region, is most clearly revealed in long-exposure images under controlled conditions.^[2]

Physical Properties

Size and Distance

Barnard's Loop exhibits an apparent angular diameter of approximately 10° across the sky, making it one of the largest emission structures visible in the Orion region.^[12] This angular extent corresponds to varying physical scales depending on its distance, with earlier estimates placing it at a nearer value of about 150–160 pc (roughly 490–520 light-years), implying a physical radius of around 50 light-years and a partial shell diameter of approximately 100 light-years.^[2] However, this foreground shell interpretation has been largely superseded by more recent analyses associating the loop with the broader Orion Molecular Cloud Complex (OMCC). Contemporary measurements, informed by data from the Gaia mission, favor a distance of approximately 400–430 pc (about 1,300–1,400 light-years) for Barnard's Loop, aligning it with the Orion Nebula and associated star-forming regions.^[9] At this distance, the structure forms a partial shell roughly 300 light-years in diameter, with the arc along the loop extending about 360 light-years and a physical radius of 100–150 light-years.^[9] This larger scale integrates Barnard's Loop as an expansive ionized shell enveloping parts of the OMCC, consistent with its observed morphology in Hα emission. Distance determinations rely primarily on trigonometric parallax measurements from the Gaia satellite, which provide precise 3D positions and proper motions for stars within and near the loop, confirming its kinematic association with Orion OB1 stars at ~414 pc. Supporting evidence comes from associations with known young stellar clusters in the region, such as those in the ONC, and limited spectroscopic data indicating low radial velocities compatible with the OMCC's systemic motion rather than a distinct foreground feature.^[9] These methods resolve the longstanding debate, establishing Barnard's Loop's physical placement within the ~1,400 light-year distant Orion complex.

Composition and Emission

Barnard's Loop is classified as an H II region, consisting primarily of ionized hydrogen gas, with trace amounts of helium, oxygen, and nitrogen that contribute to its observed spectral features.^[13] The gas is ionized by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive O-type stars within the Orion Nebula Cluster, particularly the Trapezium stars such as θ¹ Orionis, which emit high-energy photons capable of stripping electrons from hydrogen atoms.^[13] This photoionization process maintains the nebula's structure as a low-density shell of plasma, where recombination of protons and electrons produces the characteristic emission spectrum. The emission from Barnard's Loop is dominated by the Hα recombination line at 656.3 nm, responsible for its prominent red glow visible in long-exposure images.^[9] Weaker forbidden lines, such as [O III] at 500.7 nm and [S II] at 671.6 nm and 673.1 nm, are also present, with line ratios like [S II]/Hα and [N II]/Hα indicating low-ionization conditions typical of a diffuse warm ionized medium influenced by distant stellar sources rather than intense local heating.^[13] These low-ionization lines arise from collisional excitation in the partially ionized gas, highlighting the nebula's extended, low-pressure environment. Physical parameters derived from spectroscopic analysis reveal an electron density of approximately 2 cm⁻³ and an electron temperature of about 6000 K, determined through modeling of recombination lines and radio continuum data.^[13] These values reflect the balance between photoionization heating and radiative cooling via forbidden line emissions from trace metals. The nebula exhibits low dust content, primarily in the form of very small grains that cause modest extinction, particularly affecting shorter (blue) wavelengths and contributing to the observed reddening.^[9] Overall, the shell's low metallicity, evidenced by subsolar sulfur-to-hydrogen ratios (S/H ≈ 10⁻⁶), aligns with recent stellar feedback in a relatively unevolved interstellar medium.^[13]

Formation and Evolution

Supernova Origin

Barnard's Loop is widely regarded as the remnant of one or more supernova explosions that took place approximately 2–6 million years ago within the Orion OB1 association, generating an expanding bubble of hot, ionized gas that has sculpted the surrounding interstellar medium. This event is thought to have originated from the core-collapse of massive stars in a young stellar cluster, driving a shock wave that ionized and expanded the local gas, forming the prominent arc visible today. The hypothesis aligns with the structure's location amid the active star-forming region of Orion, where multiple generations of massive stars have contributed to the complex's evolution, and it forms part of the larger Orion-Eridanus superbubble. Supporting evidence for this supernova origin includes the feature's distinctive shell-like morphology, indicative of a blast wave propagating outward, combined with expansion velocities of approximately 2–10 km/s in the associated gas, consistent with expansion from a central explosion as revealed by recent 3D mapping. Additionally, three-dimensional mapping reveals alignment between Barnard's Loop and large-scale cavities in dust, X-ray, and CO emission distributions, suggesting the structure delineates the boundary of a cleared superbubble driven by supernova feedback. A 2023 study provides evidence that feedback from the OBP-Near/Briceño-1 cluster, possibly including supernovae ~6 million years ago, shaped the Loop and affected nearby molecular clouds.^[9]^[4] Dynamical models of the expansion rate yield age estimates of 2–6 million years, implying progenitor stars with masses of 20–40 M_\odot, typical for core-collapse supernovae that eject significant energy and enrich the bubble with heavy elements. These models integrate radial velocity measurements and shell geometry to reconstruct the blast's propagation, reinforcing the supernova scenario over stellar wind alone, though anisotropic expansion due to the cavity shape is noted. While alternative interpretations, such as a photoionized blister H II region powered by nearby O stars without a supernova trigger, have been considered based on ionization balances, they fail to fully account for the observed cavity alignments and coherent expansion, favoring the shocked shell model instead.^[14]

Associated Runaway Stars

Several high-velocity O and B-type stars are dynamically associated with Barnard's Loop, providing evidence for energetic events in the Orion region that align with the nebula's proposed formation timeline. The most prominent examples include AE Aurigae, an O9.5Ve star with a space velocity of approximately 100 km/s; μ Columbae, a B0.5V star moving at about 65 km/s; and 53 Arietis, a B4V star with a velocity around 28 km/s. These stars, all young and massive, exhibit proper motions that trace their paths backward to the Orion OB1 association, specifically converging near the Trapezium cluster within the Loop's central region approximately 2-3 million years ago.^[15]^[16] The ejection of these stars is attributed to violent dynamical processes in the dense young cluster environment of Orion, such as binary-binary interactions or the disruption of a binary system by a supernova explosion, which imparted the high velocities and scattered the stars outward from their birth site. Simulations indicate that AE Aurigae and μ Columbae likely originated from a close encounter involving the eccentric binary ι Orionis, propelling them in nearly opposite directions, while 53 Arietis follows a similar but slower trajectory from the same subgroup. Their stellar ages, estimated at 2-4 million years, are consistent with the timeline of recent feedback events in the region, supporting the hypothesis that supernova events—potentially linked to the Loop's formation—occurred in the broader cluster evolution.^[15]^[16]^[17] Observational evidence for these associations relies on precise astrometry and spectroscopy. Proper motions measured by the Hipparcos satellite initially revealed the converging trajectories, while subsequent Gaia Data Release 2 and Early Data Release 3 provided refined parallaxes and motions, confirming the stars' origins in Orion with higher accuracy (e.g., flight times of ~2.5 Myr for AE Aurigae and μ Columbae relative to the Orion Nebula Cluster). Radial velocities, obtained through high-resolution spectroscopy, further validate the space velocities and peculiar motions relative to the local interstellar medium, ruling out alternative birthplaces.^[15]^[16]

Modern Observations and Studies

Telescopic and Spectroscopic Data

Ground-based long-exposure imaging in the Hα emission line, conducted with 1-2 meter class telescopes such as the 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory, provided detailed views of the arc-like structure of Barnard's Loop as part of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey in the 1950s. These photographic plates captured the nebula's extent over approximately 10 degrees in the constellation Orion, highlighting its partial shell morphology in red-sensitive bands that include Hα emission.^[13] Spectroscopic studies of Barnard's Loop have measured emission line ratios, providing insights into the physical conditions of the ionized gas. For instance, spectrophotometry using the 1.5-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory has analyzed forbidden lines such as [S II] λλ6716/6731 and [N II] λλ6548/6584/5755, yielding electron densities around 0.7–3.2 cm⁻³ and electron temperatures of approximately 6000 K, indicating low-density, collisionally excited plasma typical of photoionized nebulae. These forbidden lines, which arise from metastable states with long radiative lifetimes, are particularly sensitive to collisional de-excitation in such environments, confirming the gas's uniform ionization state across the structure.^[13] Recent mapping by the SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper (LVM) using the 3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory, as of 2024, covers emission lines in Orion out to a radius of 6.5 degrees from the geometric center of Barnard's Loop, enhancing data on its ionized gas properties.^[18] Early radio observations in the 21 cm HI emission line, including surveys conducted with the Arecibo Observatory during the 1970s and 1980s, have mapped the neutral hydrogen envelope surrounding Barnard's Loop. These mappings reveal an extended HI shell associated with the nebula, tracing the outer boundaries of the ionized region and suggesting interactions between the expanding shell and ambient neutral gas. Key findings from these datasets include evidence of uniform ionization in the inner Hα-emitting gas contrasted with clumpy substructure in the envelope, likely sculpted by stellar winds from massive stars in the Orion OB association.^[19] These traditional ground-based and early radio observations laid the groundwork for understanding Barnard's Loop's structure, though they have been complemented briefly by space-based surveys offering deeper penetration through interstellar dust.

Recent Imaging Surveys

Recent imaging surveys of Barnard's Loop have leveraged space-based telescopes to capture high-resolution multiwavelength data, revealing fine structural details and physical components not accessible from ground-based observations. The Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) provided key Hα imaging in 2011, as detailed by O'Dell et al., showcasing intricate filamentary structures within the nebula and resolving features down to approximately 0.1 parsec scales.^[20] These exposures highlighted the warm ionized medium's morphology, linking Barnard's Loop to broader components of the Orion-Eridanus Bubble.^[20] Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) conducted mid-infrared surveys between 2006 and 2010, detecting dust-heated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the shell surrounding Barnard's Loop, as analyzed in the context of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble.^[21] These observations traced the emission from PAHs excited by radiation within the expanding bubble, providing insights into the dust distribution and energy balance.^[21] In 2022, a high-resolution 3D mapping study of the Orion region using Gaia data confirmed overlapping supernova-driven bubbles that align with Barnard's Loop's position, revealing million-degree gas structures and supporting models of multiple supernova events shaping the nebula's interior voids.^[22] James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations from 2023 onward, using NIRCam and MIRI instruments on regions within the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, have uncovered embedded protostars and layers of shocked gas, contributing to broader studies such as PDRs4All on the inner Orion Nebula. No dedicated JWST imaging has targeted Barnard's Loop as of November 2025, though these observations provide context for star formation in the complex.^[23] Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) in 2022 supplied astrometric measurements that refined expansion vectors for stellar clusters associated with Barnard's Loop, demonstrating coherent radial motion in the OBP-Near/Briceño-1 group at its core.^[14] This data confirmed the Loop's dynamic expansion, with velocities indicating feedback from young stars driving the structure.^[14] These results build briefly on ground-based spectroscopy for kinematic interpretation.^[14]

Scientific Significance

Role in the Orion Complex

Barnard's Loop forms the prominent outer envelope of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex (OMCC), a vast structure of gas and dust that delineates the boundary of a large cavity known as the Orion Shell. This shell, with a radius of approximately 50 pc (about 163 light-years), encloses several active star-forming regions, including the Orion Nebula (M42), the smaller emission nebula M43, and the reflection nebula NGC 1977, all situated on its inner surface along with the Orion A, B, and λ molecular clouds.^[9] The Loop itself subtends an angular extent of roughly 10° on the sky, corresponding to a physical diameter of around 100 pc (326 light-years) at the distance of the complex (~400 pc), though the broader superbubble it traces extends up to 300 pc across.^[9] Dynamically, the expansion of Barnard's Loop plays a key role in shaping the OMCC through feedback mechanisms from embedded massive stars. Radial outflows from the Orion Belt Population-B1 (OBP-B1) cluster, with velocities ranging from 2 to 10 km/s, compress surrounding molecular clouds, generating density waves that trigger further star formation in the inner regions.^[9] This interaction has notably influenced the structure of Orion A and B, sweeping up and reorganizing gas into filamentary configurations that promote gravitational collapse.^[9] Barnard's Loop is closely associated with the Orion OB1a subgroup, part of the larger Orion OB1 association, where OBP-B1 lies near the geometric center of the expanding shell. The OMCC, including the Loop and its enclosed clouds, contains a total mass of approximately 3 × 10⁵ M⊙ in gas and dust, dominated by the molecular components of Orion A (~1.5 × 10⁵ M⊙) and Orion B (~8 × 10⁴ M⊙).^[24] In its evolutionary context, Barnard's Loop represents an intermediate stage in the lifecycle of stellar feedback structures, bridging compact active H II regions like M42 and more mature, expansive superbubbles such as the Gum Nebula. Formed from cumulative stellar feedback over ~6 million years, including one or more Type II supernovae in the past few million years within the OB1a subgroup, it exemplifies the transition from localized ionization to large-scale bubble expansion within the broader Orion-Eridanus superbubble.^[9]

Contributions to Astrophysics

Studies of Barnard's Loop have advanced models of supernova remnants and superbubble dynamics by applying the Weaver et al. (1977) framework, which describes the structure and evolution of interstellar bubbles driven by stellar winds and supernova explosions. This seminal model predicts a multi-layered shell with hot interior gas, evaporated cloudlets, and radiative cooling zones, features observed in Barnard's Loop through its arc-like Hα emission and radial expansion profile. Applications to Barnard's Loop indicate it formed as a superbubble from cumulative feedback in the Orion OB1 association, including one or more Type II supernovae in the past few million years, providing empirical constraints on supernova rates in OB associations of about 1–2 events per few million years per cluster.^[9] The Loop's expansion, modeled as a coherent radial "Hubble flow" with a median velocity of 2.1 km s⁻¹ up to 33 pc from its center, aligns with hydrodynamic simulations of feedback-driven bubbles, such as those by Grudić et al. (2021, 2022), which reproduce arc morphologies like Barnard's Loop through supernova shocks interacting with nonuniform interstellar medium. These insights inform broader understanding of how multiple supernovae in young associations carve out large-scale cavities, with expansion laws derived from Weaver's framework tested against the Loop's kinematics to refine predictions for remnant evolution in galactic disks.^[9] Barnard's Loop contributes to star formation regulation by exemplifying triggered collapse in superbubble shells, where supernova shocks compress ambient clouds to initiate gravitational instability. Observations and 3D modeling reveal that the Loop's expansion swept up gas into dense clumps at cavity edges, fostering the formation of subsequent stellar generations in surrounding molecular clouds, consistent with simulations showing feedback-induced bursts in OB association environments. This process highlights the Loop's role in cyclic stellar feedback, where supernova energy regulates the efficiency of star formation by dispersing clouds while compressing others to ~10⁴ solar masses of material into star-forming sites.^[9]^[4] Multiwavelength analyses of Barnard's Loop provide benchmarks for H II region diagnostics, particularly in calibrating ionization parameters and electron temperatures for the warm ionized medium (WIM). Spectrophotometric data establish that the Loop's plasma, photoionized by nearby O stars, exhibits temperatures of ~6000 K and densities ~2 cm⁻³, similar to though somewhat cooler than classical bright H II regions and enabling low-ionization line ratios like [S II]/Hα and [N II]/Hα to constrain stellar effective temperatures and abundances in extragalactic surveys. These properties address gaps in WIM modeling by requiring enhanced heavy element abundances (factor ~1.4) for agreement between observations and photoionization simulations, aiding interpretation of Hα emission from distant galaxies.^[9] Recent Gaia DR3 astrometry has resolved the distance debate for Barnard's Loop, placing its geometric center at ~400–430 pc, which refines luminosity functions for nearby superbubbles and confirms its association with the Orion complex without invoking extreme foreground positions. This updated distance, combined with multiwavelength imaging, impacts estimates of bubble energetics and expansion ages, bridging local observations with galactic-scale evolution models.^[9]

References

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Barnard's Loop
- **Equatorial Coordinates (J2000):** RA: 05h 27m 30.0s, Dec: -03° 58' 00" (Optical) [Source: 1976A&AS...25...25D]
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**Summary of Physical Conditions in Barnard's Loop:**
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Dec 2, 2022 · Barnard's Loop is a famous arc of H\alpha emission located in the Orion star-forming region. Here, we provide evidence of a possible formation ...Missing: low metallicity stellar