A giant floating balloon?

what happens when with all the helium that is released by the stars? does it float out into space or does it get drawn back into the sun? If it floats out, then how would this effect the "ecology" of the universe? would there be anything similar to how oxygen affected early life?

 

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Helium released by stars??

 

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The gravitational attraction of even a small star is too great to allow any helium to escape. Since it doesn't float out is has no effect on the 'ecology' of the Universe. The giant clouds of gas and dust from which new stars are formed contain a significant amount of helium , either from the Big Bang, or from synthesis from hydrogen in stars like the sun.
Oxygen didn't effect early life. Early life produced oxygen. There is no reasonable analogy to make between the roles of the two gases.

 

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well that's what people call the solar wind I guess altough it's mostly charged hydrogen molecules.

Helium on the other hand is the more heavier component so when it crosses a planet that hasn't got a magnetic field then that planet will absorbe a part of it. This leads to whatever atmsofere there is on Mercurius And it also leads to the helium3 deposids into the lunar soil.

So actually yes this effects the ecologie. OF those bodies, if you ask some NASA guy what possibly goods you could get from the moon they tend to say that you can mine the stuff and it's worth millions.

So your floating helium may be responsible for the first mass population for the moon witch will proberly involve lots of people some plant life and pets.

So in a way yes in a way no.
Hope I made it clear PS no living creature could ever breath helium it's a enert gas meaning it doesn't react with his enviroment.

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Altough I believe Ophiolite means it right.
Their are stars that can't hold down their upper atmosfere and are therefore clouded in a ever increasing nebula like antares. These are however exeptions.

 

I jad no sooner posted than I realised I was being misleading. The helium does not float out but is expelled by violent activity in the upper reaches of the star - solar wind, just as orcot has said in his almost simultaneous posting.
And as a lighthearted correction to orcot - living creatures can breathe helium it just doesn't do anything for them except, if they are human, there voices sound like Donald Duck.

 

follow the yellow brick road

 

I have seen it suggested elsewhere that an Earth-like planet orbiting an oragnge dwarf will have a cooler exosphere (the region at the top of the atmosphere heated by ultra-violet light, which is the region where most atmospheric gases are lost);

if such a planet existed, it might have a significant helium fraction in the atmosphere
and you might find a whole world talking like Donald.