Slashdot Mirror
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."'"
It's the best I can do!
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.
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.
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.
Of Sun, Earth and sister stars. They may have been separated somewhat in that time. One revolution = 1/4 billion years.
> 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.