Planets like Earth existed near old star: Astronomers discover evidence of planets beyond our solar system
Shattered remains of asteroid discovered 150 light years away from the Earth
It is the first time that both water and a rocky surface have been found beyond our solar system
Scientists believe it is a glimpse into the distant future of our own corner of the universe
Life may really be out there.
Astronomers have found the first evidence of habitable planets outside our own solar system.
The discovery of the shattered remains of an asteroid which once contained huge amounts of water - crucial for life - has left scientists ‘incredibly excited’.
It suggests that hundreds of millions of years ago, the distant system may have harboured Earth-like planets.
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‘At this stage in its existence, all that remains of this rocky body is simply dust and debris that has been pulled into the orbit of its dying parent star,’ he said.
‘However this planetary graveyard swirling around the embers of its parent star is a rich source of information about its former life. In these remnants lie chemical clues which point towards a previous existence as a water-rich terrestrial body.’
The research, which appears in the journal Science and was made using Nasa’s Hubble telescope, looked at the light emitted by GD 61. The region located 150 light years away from the Earth.
Astronomers detected an abundance of ‘rocky’ elements such as magnesium, silicon and iron, and also found oxygen in quantities that indicated a large amounts of water.
Only a water-rich massive asteroid, or minor planet, can explain the observations, they claimed.
Earth is essentially a ‘dry’ planet, with only 0.02 per cent of its mass made up of surface water. Our oceans only formed after the planet was formed, likely a result of water-rich asteroids or comets crashed into us.
The latest findings suggest something similar could have happened in this distant solar system.
Lead author Jay Farihi, from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, said: ‘The finding of water in a large asteroid means the building blocks of habitable planets existed - and maybe still exist - in the GD 61 system, and likely also around substantial number of similar parent stars.
‘These water-rich building blocks, and the terrestrial planets they build, may in fact be common - a system cannot create things as big as asteroids and avoid building planets, and GD 61 had the ingredients to deliver lots of water to their surfaces.
Our results demonstrate that there was definitely potential for habitable planets in this exoplanetary system.’
Scientists believe that the universe could be teeming with planets that are able to support life.
Latest NASA estimates suggest that there could be as many as 60 million habitable planets.
Data taken from the Kepler telescope, which has spent several years exploring exoplanets outside of the solar system, had suggested that there could be at least one planet that is capable of supporting life close to each red dwarf.
If a planet is too close to its star, the water vapourises as it is too hot. But if it is too far away, the water freezes.
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