Space
Diamond Planets Hosted First Life In The Universe
Sam D
First Posted: Jun 09, 2016 05:20 AM EDT
The first life in the Universe formed on diamond planets as per researchers from the Harvard University; however these habitable worlds were very different from the Earth. The formation of planets in the primordial Universe may have been associated with the creation of carbon planets which contained diamond, carbides and graphite. The researching astronomers have suggested that they may detect such diamond worlds by looking for a rare class of stars.
"This work shows that even stars with a tiny fraction of the carbon in our solar system can host planets,'" said Natalie Mashian, lead researcher. "We have good reason to believe that alien life will be carbon-based, like life on Earth, so this also bodes well for the possibility of life in the early universe".
During its early stages, the Universe was mostly comprised of helium and hydrogen and lacked the, generally perceived as, important elements like oxygen and carbon necessary for life. It was only after the explosion of the first stars as supernovae that the formation of planet, and subsequently that of life, became possible.
To throw more light on the phenomenon, the researching team studied a certain group of old stars known as carbon enhanced metal poor (CEMP) stars, which have only one hundred-thousandth times the iron our Sun has. The anemic quotient of the star implies that they were created before heavy elements flourished in interstellar space. The researchers have likened the CEMP stars to fossils from the primordial Universe that can give a deeper insight to the origin of planets, as well as life.
The astronomers found that though the anemic stars lack iron and heavy metals, in comparison to the Sun, they have more carbon content than is considered normal at their age which is influencing for the formation of planets. Fluffy grains of carbon dioxide cluster together to create tar black planets, which can't be told apart from a distance from more Earth like planets because of the similarity of their physical sizes and masses.
Now the researchers will analyze the atmosphere of the carbon planets, which are enveloped by gases like methane and carbon dioxide, for signs of their actual nature. Mashian believes that the transit technique can be used to conduct a search for planets that exist around CEMP stars.
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Jun 09, 2016 05:20 AM EDT
The first life in the Universe formed on diamond planets as per researchers from the Harvard University; however these habitable worlds were very different from the Earth. The formation of planets in the primordial Universe may have been associated with the creation of carbon planets which contained diamond, carbides and graphite. The researching astronomers have suggested that they may detect such diamond worlds by looking for a rare class of stars.
"This work shows that even stars with a tiny fraction of the carbon in our solar system can host planets,'" said Natalie Mashian, lead researcher. "We have good reason to believe that alien life will be carbon-based, like life on Earth, so this also bodes well for the possibility of life in the early universe".
During its early stages, the Universe was mostly comprised of helium and hydrogen and lacked the, generally perceived as, important elements like oxygen and carbon necessary for life. It was only after the explosion of the first stars as supernovae that the formation of planet, and subsequently that of life, became possible.
To throw more light on the phenomenon, the researching team studied a certain group of old stars known as carbon enhanced metal poor (CEMP) stars, which have only one hundred-thousandth times the iron our Sun has. The anemic quotient of the star implies that they were created before heavy elements flourished in interstellar space. The researchers have likened the CEMP stars to fossils from the primordial Universe that can give a deeper insight to the origin of planets, as well as life.
The astronomers found that though the anemic stars lack iron and heavy metals, in comparison to the Sun, they have more carbon content than is considered normal at their age which is influencing for the formation of planets. Fluffy grains of carbon dioxide cluster together to create tar black planets, which can't be told apart from a distance from more Earth like planets because of the similarity of their physical sizes and masses.
Now the researchers will analyze the atmosphere of the carbon planets, which are enveloped by gases like methane and carbon dioxide, for signs of their actual nature. Mashian believes that the transit technique can be used to conduct a search for planets that exist around CEMP stars.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone