A Nearby Twin of the Sun

[norml]

A Nearby Twin of the Sun

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 - When astronomers start searching for evidence of live orbiting other stars, they'll start with familiar terrain: other stars like our Sun. Astronomers from the Australian National University have identified a nearby candidate that's a virtual twin of our Sun in age, size, temperature and chemistry; although, it doesn't have the same mass. The star, HD98618, is located 126 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Dipper), and is bright enough to see with binoculars.

Full article


HD98618 would look almost identical to our Sun. Image credit: SOHO Click to enlarge.

ANU astronomers have discovered a nearby solar twin which may shed light on the search for planets that are similar to Earth and that may even support life.

HD98618 is only the second star found so far that is almost identical to the Sun in age, size, temperature and chemistry, according to the researchers Dr Jorge Meléndez, Ms Katie Dodds-Eden and Mr José Robles, from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“This solar twin doesn’t only have the same mass as the Sun, it was also formed with the same ‘chemical recipe’. So this star was equipped in the same way as the Sun to form Earth-like planets,” Mr Robles said.


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http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/nearby_twin_sun.html?2432006

[bbinacan]

1. Cool indeed. n/t

[still_one]

3. actually it is quite hot indeed

[treegiver]

2. Same mass or not?

"a virtual twin of our Sun in age, size, temperature and chemistry; although, it doesn't have the same mass."

or

"This solar twin doesn’t only have the same mass as the Sun, it was also formed with the same ‘chemical recipe’."

[DRoseDARs]

4. Also used the word live instead of life; editor musta' bn in the john n/t

[leveymg]

5. Let's hope they're a bit more evolved and aren't led by an ape.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. "Only" 128 LY away!

I look at it this way: It's going to be safe from our clutches until we manage to radically extend our life spans and/or develop faster-than-light-speed transportation.

Either way, the place is probably safe for at least 128 years.

--p!