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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."'"

9 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Sol Sister by dhaen · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's the best I can do!

    1. Re:Sol Sister by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 3, Funny

      How about, "But is she hot?"

  2. No photos?! by Edis+Krad · · Score: 2, Funny

    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 ;)

  3. Sister? by Threni · · Score: 2, Funny

    Surely if it's a son it should be its brother?

  4. Re:Believe it or not by durrr · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

  5. Re:Believe it or not by durrr · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

  6. Why we are here...? by DrPBacon · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought science had basically decided that we are here simply because we are not over there.

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    Spent All My Mod Points
  7. Re:Believe it or not by Ogive17 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You forgot about the part about blowing up when exhausted.

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    "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
  8. Sister? by EvilSS · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think the more amazing thing from this article is that we've apparently figured out how to identify the gender or a star.

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    I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.