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Scientists have discovered a rocky “super-Earth” planet in an ancient star system that likely formed 10 billion years ago, just a few billion years after our Milky Way galaxy was born.
Why is this important: The new planet probably cannot support life, but in general, researchers believe that older planetary systems have a better chance of harboring life because they live long.
- “Damn, if we’ve only been around 5 billion years, imagine what could have happened in a rocky world that’s been around 10 billion years ago. I would surely like to find out,” said Lauren Weiss of the University of Hawaii in a press conference Monday at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
What they found: The planet – called TOI-561b – revolves around its star in less than half an Earth day and is about 50% larger than our planet.
- The world is likely hosting an ocean of magma on the side of the planet that faces its star, Weiss said.
- Weiss also said that there are two other planets orbiting the star, which are believed to be gaseous and more distant than the rocky world.
- Researchers used NASA’s TESS mission and Keck Observatory to find and confirm super-Earth, and a study detailing the discovery was accepted at Astronomical journal.
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