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The origin and fate of the most extended extragalactic neutral cloud known inthe local Universe, the Leo ring, is still debated 38 years after itsdiscovery. Its existence is alternatively attributed to leftover primordial gaswith some low level of metal pollution versus enriched gas stripped during agalaxy-galaxy encounter. Taking advantage of MUSE (Multi Unit SpectroscopicExplorer) operating at the VLT, we performed optical integral fieldspectroscopy of 3 HI clumps in the Leo ring where ultraviolet continuumemission has been found. We detected, for the first time, ionized hydrogen inthe ring and identify 4 nebular regions powered by massive stars. These nebulaeshow several metal lines ([OIII],[NII],[SII]) which allowed reliable measuresof metallicities, found to be close to or above the solar value. Given thefaintness of the diffuse stellar counterparts, less than 3 percent of theobserved heavy elements could have been produced locally in the main body ofthe ring and not much more than 15 percent in the HI clump towards M96. Thisinference, and the chemical homogeneity among the regions, convincinglydemonstrates that the gas in the ring is not primordial, but has beenpre-enriched in a galaxy disk, then later removed and shaped by tidal forcesand it is forming a sparse population of stars.

Heavy elements unveil the non primordial origin of the giant HI ring in Leo