Supernova May Explain How Planets are Formed

ExE122 writes "A young pulsar that formed from a supernova which happened about 100,000 years ago and is sitting 13,000 light years away may solve some questions about the origins of Earth. From the article: 'Scientists think they have solved the mystery of how planets form around a star born in a violent supernova explosion, saying they have detected for the first time a swirling disk of debris from which planets can rise. The discovery is surprising because the dusty disk orbiting the pulsar, or dead star, resembles the cloud of gas and dust from which Earth emerged. Scientists say the latest finding should shed light on how planetary systems form.'"

Comments

Re:Does this change what we think the earth's age

[eln]

This new data conclusively proves that the Earth was, in fact, created last Tuesday. Researchers are still double checking the math, though.

Re:Does this change what we think the earth's age

[slughead]

Radiometric dating points to the earth's inception being ~4.6 billion years ago.

Radiometric dating.. I guess that's the first stage in how planets make other planets.