Oldest solar twin identified: VLT provides new clues to help solve lithium mystery
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 09:30
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) —An international team led by astronomers in Brazil has used ESO's Very Large Telescope to identify and study the oldest solar twin known to date. Located 250 light-years from Earth, the star HIP 102152 is more like the Sun than any other solar twin—except that it is nearly four billion years older. This older, but almost identical, twin gives us an unprecedented chance to see how the Sun will look when it ages. The new observations also provide an important first clear link between a star's age and its lithium content, and in addition suggest that HIP 102152 may be host to rocky terrestrial planets.