[New Tang Dynasty News February 12, 2021, Beijing time]Recently, a study showed thatMilky WayI found one aboutTen billion years oldof”Super earth“Scientists believe that this rocky planet may have appearedlife。
A new study was presented at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Scientists found aTen billion years oldof”Super earth“. The planet named TOI-561b is located about 280 light-years from the Earth in the Sextant constellation (Sextans) in the southern sky. Its volume is 1.45 times that of Earth and its mass is about 3 times that of Earth.
Its host star TOI-561 is an orange dwarf star with a history of about 10 billion years and is currently knownMilky WayOne of the oldest stars within. TOI-561b also has a history of about ten billion years.
Scientists believe that the Milky Way has a history of about 12 billion years, and this “super-Earth” was created almost in the early days of the Milky Way.
Research leader Lauren Weiss, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii, said: “TOI-561b is one of the oldest rocky planets ever discovered. Its existence shows that the universe has been producing rocky planets since it was born 14 billion years ago. .”
It takes 10.5 hours for this planet to orbit its host star. Just like the moon orbiting the earth, there is always only one face to its host star. This means that one side of this planet is always day and the other side is always night. Researchers estimate that the night side of the planet may be the rocky land surface.
In addition, this newly discovered “Super Earth” is located in the thick plate of the Milky Way, which is extraordinary.
According to the researchers, most spiral galaxies similar to the Milky Way have two disks: a thin disk and a thick disk. The star with the thick disk has a longer relative history. In other words, this rocky planet appeared and began to evolve when the universe was born more than 10 billion years ago.
Scientists believe that billions of years ago, this planet probably hadlife。
Weiss said: “This shows that in the past 10 billion years, even the entire 12 billion year history of the Milky Way has produced rocky planets. Imagine the history of a rocky planet with a history of 10 billion years? I would like to know. “
The research that Weiss is responsible for will be published in the February issue of The Astronomical Journal.
So far, scientists have discovered many “super earths.” Bjorn Benneke, an astronomer at the University of Montreal in Canada, once said: “Our ultimate goal is to find life on other planets, to prove that we are not alone.”
(Reporter Luo Tingting Comprehensive Report / Chief Editor: Wen Hui)
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