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13-Billion-Year-Old Alien Worlds Discovered
astroengine writes "Two exoplanets have been discovered by scientists at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy orbiting the star HIP 11952. But according to conventional thinking, these worlds shouldn't exist. You see, HIP 11952 is a 'metal-poor star and planetary formation is hindered around stars with low metallicity (PDF). This isn't the only thing; as metal-poor stars were the first stars to form when the Universe was very young, these two worlds also formed around the same time. They are therefore the most ancient exoplanets discovered to date."
Possibly they are captured rogue planets.
Well, they're only 375 light-years away, so I'd say that if they had managed to exist for 13 000 000 000 years, they likelihood of them disappearing in the last 375 is pretty low. My bet is on "are".
And the worms ate into his brain.
It doesn't matter.
Point is that we now know that planets were formed at a very early stage of the universe.
As for the planets being metal poor, it isn't a surprise really, considering the age of the planets.
Let's put aside that for astronomers everything beyond helium is a "metal", we are talking about iron (Fe) and heavier elements.
Suns can only create elements up to iron in a fusion process, everything else is created in a (super) nova, and those were only starting at the beginning of the universe.
The real surprise here is that planets were formed without (or with few) heavy elements.
There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
I am astounded by the amount of rhetoric and vitriol that surrounds astronomical discoveries. Whether or not they are correct, the truth boils down to: we don't have shit for current time observations of anything in the universe. I truly believe that we are on the right path, and models fit observation, but why get so skeptical about everything? By the time we all die, the universe will basically be in the same state. Let's enjoy the limits of our observation, explore and expand them, and then maybe one of our lineage will be able to explore it.
Koalas. They're telepathic. Plus, they control the weather. -Margaret
No, it's an illusion. The past, present and future simply are. "Time" is a word we created to make sense of the universe since we only have true clarity of the present and are unable to firmly grasp both the past and future in the same context. It's understandable because few people can grasp what the universe is, was and shall be. There is no "time", it's just your mind being unable to grasp anything more complex than the here and now. Everything that was, still is and everything that shall be will be. Think flatland from one level up.
Is position an illusion? No. Time is just position on an axis you can't understand.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
Nothing is "ageless".
How old is time itself?
I don't think that's a well-formed question. It's like asking "how long is distance?".
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
"But according to conventional thinking, these worlds shouldn't exist. You see, HIP 11952 is a 'metal-poor star and planetary formation is hindered around stars with low metallicity ."
Therefore - Jesus!