07-07-2020, 08:21 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-08-2020, 05:40 AM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
Does "source of life in the universe" mean we’ve discovered proto-aliens in our galaxy? That headline leads off a news release describing the origin of carbon in the Milky Way:
Astronomers have found the source of life in the universe
Another more, shall we say, down to earth (and florid) article puts it this way:
As dying stars take their final few breaths of life, they gently sprinkle their ashes into the cosmos through the magnificent planetary nebulae. These ashes, spread via stellar winds, are enriched with many different chemical elements, including carbon. "The findings pose new, stringent constraints on how and when carbon was produced by stars of our galaxy, ending up within the raw material from which the Sun and its planetary system were formed 4.6 billion years ago...
Using data from the Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii collected between August and September 2018, the researchers analyzed white dwarfs belonging to the Milky Way's open star clusters.
... stars born roughly 1 billion years ago in the Milky Way didn't produce white dwarfs of about 0.60-0.65 solar masses, as it was commonly thought, but they died leaving behind more massive remnants of about 0.7 - 0.75 solar masses.
... new carbon atoms in their hot interiors, transported them to the surface and finally spread them into the surrounding interstellar environment...
Astrobiology.com
Even if it's not exactly aliens, consider this. Remnants of dying stars containing carbon, one of the building blocks of life, spread by solar wind - - probably didn't reach planet Earth without landing elsewhere throughout the Milky Way.
Astronomers have found the source of life in the universe
Another more, shall we say, down to earth (and florid) article puts it this way:
As dying stars take their final few breaths of life, they gently sprinkle their ashes into the cosmos through the magnificent planetary nebulae. These ashes, spread via stellar winds, are enriched with many different chemical elements, including carbon. "The findings pose new, stringent constraints on how and when carbon was produced by stars of our galaxy, ending up within the raw material from which the Sun and its planetary system were formed 4.6 billion years ago...
Using data from the Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii collected between August and September 2018, the researchers analyzed white dwarfs belonging to the Milky Way's open star clusters.
... stars born roughly 1 billion years ago in the Milky Way didn't produce white dwarfs of about 0.60-0.65 solar masses, as it was commonly thought, but they died leaving behind more massive remnants of about 0.7 - 0.75 solar masses.
... new carbon atoms in their hot interiors, transported them to the surface and finally spread them into the surrounding interstellar environment...
Astrobiology.com
Even if it's not exactly aliens, consider this. Remnants of dying stars containing carbon, one of the building blocks of life, spread by solar wind - - probably didn't reach planet Earth without landing elsewhere throughout the Milky Way.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves