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A few months later, the English as- tronomer Norman Lockyer was observ- ing the spectral lines of solar radiation as it passed through the smog blanket- ing London. He found that same yellow spectral line and initially thought it might be a different isotope of hydrogen. But after extensive testing, he determined that it was indeed a new element. This was the first time that an ele-

Norman Lockyer

ment had been discovered in space before it was discovered on Earth. This newly discovered element was named after the Greek god of the Sun—Helios. It was assumed that the element was a metal and, since most metals have the suffix “-ium”, it was named Helium. Helium, however, as the scientific community learned in the decades following its discovery, is not a metal.

Helium on Earth Many in the scientific community were uncertain about this

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The Chemistry of Everyday Elements