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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/astro-helium-found-in-sun

Which element was found in the Sun's spectrum before it was found on Earth?

Helium, named after helios, the Greek word for Sun.

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  1. Helium ✔
  2. Hydrogen
  3. Neon

Why: A set of spectral lines in sunlight matched no known element. It was named helium and only later identified in rocks and gas on Earth. Spectroscopy let us do chemistry on something 150 million km away.

Huh, didn't know that: In 1860 Gustav Kirchhoff first identified an element in the Sun this way: sodium.

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I'd tell you a helium joke, but you wouldn't react.
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References

Answer: Helium. A set of spectral lines in sunlight matched no known element. It was named helium and only later identified in rocks and gas on Earth. Spectroscopy let us do chemistry on something 150 million km away.

  1. OpenStax Astronomy 2e, 5.3 Spectroscopy in Astronomy openstax.org/books/astronomy-2e/pages/5-3-spectroscopy-in-astronomy
    the element helium was found first in the Sun from its spectrum and only later identified on Earth.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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