Measuring the amount of deuterium in the universe allows us to set a limit on

the density of ordinary (baryonic) matter in the universe

Explanation:

 Deuterium detection is of interest because the amount of it may be related to the amount of dark matter in the universe, but precise measurements have been difficult to obtain. Due to the way in which deuterium was created in the Big Bang, an exact measurement of the amount of deuterium would allow scientists to set limits on the models of the great explosion.

Also, an exact measure of deuterium would be an indicator of the cosmic density of barions (ordinary matter), and that density of barions would indicate whether ordinary matter is dark and is found in regions such as black holes, gas clouds or brown dwarfs, or it is bright and can be found in the stars. This information will help scientists who try to understand the very beginning of our universe.

a.   mass number from atomic number

luster is not a good characteristic to use by itself because luster is the property of minerals that indicates how much the surface of a mineral reflects light. the luster of a mineral is affected by the brilliance of the light used to observe the mineral surface.