Alien Earths could form earlier than expected
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 17:30
in Astronomy & Space
Previous studies have shown that Jupiter-sized gas giants tend to form around stars containing more heavy elements than the sun. However, new research found that planets smaller than Neptune are located around a wide variety of stars, including those with fewer heavy elements than the sun. As a result, rocky worlds like Earth could have formed earlier than expected in the universe's history.