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Can someone explain to me how this planet can be 10,000,000 years old? Isn't that formation far too new for a star system that close? I would have expected such
by josephagoss 12y ago
Can someone explain to me how this planet can be 10,000,000 years old? Isn't that formation far too new for a star system that close? I would have expected such formation to be inside a nebula near the core of the galaxy.
- cryptoz 12y agoPlanets form all the time in all parts of the galaxy. Supernovae happen all over the place, with enough frequency that there are constantly new stars born with new planetary systems.
- iwwr 12y agoThe Sun is orbiting inside the thin disk, within 3K light years of the galactic plane, where most of stars and most new stars reside (other than the center bulge or bar). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_disk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_disk Star ages can be estimated by their composition (older stars contain more helium), color (bluer stars live far shorter than redder stars), brightness for their given color (older stars burn brighter), activity (younger stars are more active, they flare more) and if they contain protoplanetary disks (a feature of very young stars). Astronomers also use the HR diagram: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertzsprung%E2%80%93Russell_diagram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertzsprung%E2%80%93Russell_dia... Having a good measure of distance is important and there are various ways to determine that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder