Science
One of the Oldest Stars in the Galaxy has a Planet. Rocky Planets Were Forming at Nearly the Beginning of the Universe – Universe Today
Astronomers have found a 10 billion-year-old rocky planet in the Milky Way’s thick disk. Where did the heavy elements come from?
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Would it be surprising to find a rocky planet that dates back to the very early Universe? It should be. The early Universe lacked the heavier elements necessary to form rocky planets.
But astronomers have found one, right here in the Milky Way.
After the Big Bang, the Universe consisted of nothing but light elements like hydrogen and helium, with a little lithium. Rocky planets require heavier elements like carbon, oxygen, and iron, which astronomers call metals. Those heavier elements can only…
