Two unusual old stars act young

01101001 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-January-2008, 09:03 PM

AAS News

UCLA press release: 2 unusual older stars giving birth to second wave of planets (via Eurekalert)

Quote:

Hundreds of millions — or even billions — of years after planets would have initially formed around two unusual stars, a second wave of planetesimal and planet formation appears to be taking place, UCLA astronomers and colleagues believe.

"This is a new class of stars, ones that display conditions now ripe for formation of a second generation of planets, long, long after the stars themselves formed," said UCLA astronomy graduate student Carl Melis, who reported the findings today at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas.

"If we took a rocket to one of these stars and discovered there were two totally distinct ages for their planets and more minor bodies like asteroids, that would blow scientists' minds away," said Benjamin Zuckerman, UCLA professor of physics and astronomy and co-author of the research, which has not yet been published. "We're seeing stars with characteristics that have never been seen before."

Swift · #2 (**permalink**) 09-January-2008, 09:48 PM

Wow. I wonder what the mechanism is. Are these older suns generating the dusty disks, or did they somehow aquire them from a new influx of material?

01101001 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-January-2008, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swift

Are these older suns generating the dusty disks, or did they somehow aquire them from a new influx of material?

Since one of them is part of a binary pair, and it's similarly old partner isn't giving birth (that means the partner is male... no) then the acquisition scenario might be problematical. Anyone know how far separated this binary pair is? From press release:

Quote:

TYCHO 4144 329 2 orbits a companion star that has a mass similar to that of our sun; a second generation of planets is not forming around this companion, which appears to be an ordinary old star in all respects. By studying this companion star, the astronomers have deduced that TYCHO 4144 329 2 is just 200 light-years from Earth — very close by astronomical standards.

Swift · #4 (**permalink**) 10-January-2008, 01:56 PM

Well, maybe they did what a lot of older couples do when they decide they want a family - maybe they adopted?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
To all proponents of a universe with infinite age	Bjoern	Against the Mainstream	358	02-March-2007 06:18 PM
Another CMBR question	Bogie	Questions and Answers	4	27-January-2007 03:36 PM
Young Stars Thrown Out of the Nursery	Fraser	Universe Today Story Comments	0	13-September-2005 07:05 AM
Pluto is a planet or satellite?	Littlemews	Astronomical Observing, Equipment and Accessories	46	25-February-2004 07:25 AM