Astronomers Identify the Sun's Long-Lost Sister
An anonymous reader writes "A team of researchers led by astronomer Ivan Ramirez of the University of Texas — Austin has identified the first 'sibling' of the sun, a star almost certainly born from the same cloud of gas and dust as our star. 'Astronomers had been observing the star for almost two decades without realizing it's the long-lost sister of the Sun. No doubt we have catalogued other solar siblings whose common heritage has yet to be discovered. Indeed, the UT team, lead by astronomer Ivan Ramirez, is confident that the identification of HD 162826 is just the beginning. "We want to know where we were born," Ramirez said in a statement. "If we can figure out in what part of the galaxy the Sun formed, we can constrain conditions on the early solar system. That could help us understand why we are here."'"
Was a baby girl?
Fail.
It's the best I can do!
A long lost relative? Is it rich? Have we asked it for money, yet?
Awww c'mon. No photos?! Now I'll keep wondering if Sol's sister was hot or not. ;)
Well, if it runs in the family, I'd say maybe yea... a few thousand kelvin hot
Surely if it's a son it should be its brother?
Where's all the cool aliens? Where's the "earth-like planet" which we can immediately conquer and start growing maize on?
I was a bit skeptic when I heard that she weights even more than her sister, but it turns out she's not only incredibly hot, she's also radiant and an important central figure.
On average, that star has only been moving away from the sun at about 16 miles per hour. There are people who can run faster. Yet after these billions of years, even that snail's pace has been enough to put 110 light years between us.
A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.
She's like most of the other girls, only someone claims her to be a close relative. Of course if the claim were otherwise you'd have never known she (et al.) even existed, just like all the others.
If you think her sister is fat, you should see her momma!
How did they decide whether it's a sister or brother?
Men don't have cycles, or spotting, and doesn't discharge things quite as often.
They also don't become deficient of certain products in old age which causes them to rapidly change appearance.
I thought science had basically decided that we are here simply because we are not over there.
Spent All My Mod Points
You forgot about the part about blowing up when exhausted.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
+1 Nasal caffeine.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Lady Marmalade
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Sol Sister, Go Sister
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Sol Sister, Go Sister
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it. --AC
All hail Sol invictus.
I think the more amazing thing from this article is that we've apparently figured out how to identify the gender or a star.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Nice, let's have a family meeting !
men don't [...] discharge things quite as often.
i've got some news for you..
Here is a reference chart.
Of Sun, Earth and sister stars. They may have been separated somewhat in that time. One revolution = 1/4 billion years.
From grammar. In most languages of the world, the word for Sun is male. Exceptions are the germanic languages, where the Sun is female, and interestingly though slavic languages, where the Sun is actually a neutrum.
> Men ... doesn't discharge things quite as often
Obviously you've never seen the floor around the wastebasket in a teenage boy's room.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Romance languages go Sun -> Male, Moon -> Female. Semitic languages go Sun -> Female, Moon -> Male . Exact opposites yet quite close geographically. Long story short, assignment of gender to inanimate objects is largely arbitrary unless the object really looks like a penis or a vagina. Bunch of pervs that we are. Not that the two or three billion people who speak genderless languages aren't pervs. Japanese, for example, is genderless.
Men don't have cycles, or spotting, and doesn't discharge things quite as often.
Speak for yourself!
The News of the World
Although the word sister can also mean "of the same type or origin", and is often used in English to describe similar things, especially if they come from the same place. You often hear of "sister ships" or "sister cities", and although these words have gender in other languages, they don't in English (though it derives from gendered languages). I think it's in this sense that the article refers to the "sun's sister".
my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
Interesting. There is an asymmetry between "brother" and "sister" in the dictionary: "sisters" may mean a kinship group of objects, but "brothers" may not. The article consistently refers to stars as “it” (except for sister stars), so I endorse your interpretation.
RAMIREZ! FIND SUN'S LONG-LOST SISTER STAR!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkuLj5uCgSk
don't tell Her that. hell hath no fury like a scorching sun.
Right?