Research: The older a solar system is, the greater the chance of finding life in it

 Wanted: old sun

 
 
By: Dr. Noah Brosh
 
 
 
A spiral galaxy

Most of the stars suitable to be suns in solar systems other than ours - but still in "our" Milky Way galaxy - are older than the sun by which we are warmed. An Australian study dealing with this, published in the weekly Science, is of great importance, because the chance of finding intelligent life outside our solar system probably depends on the amount of time that similar solar systems had available from the moment of their formation, in order for them to be equipped with the ability to develop life. Therefore, if these worlds have a billion more years than ours, the chances of finding life in them are higher. The Australian research is computational, and is based on 4 requirements for the existence of life. The first requirement: the existence of the star Saturn (a stationary star, not a planet) in the solar system, which constitutes the sun for the entire system. The second requirement: the presence of heavy chemical elements – oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, along with silicon, iron and others – to form the transit planet around this other sun. The third requirement: enough time for complicated life (above the level of bacteria) to develop; And the last requirement - the absence of destructive factors, such as star explosions.
The researchers found that if these conditions are met together with the developmental model of the Milky Way galaxy, a ring of stars is formed, which meet the requirements for the formation of life.
Indeed, such a ring is 27 million light-years away from Earth. It contains stars that formed in a period that began 8 billion years before our time, and lasted 4 billion years. Since our sun is younger than 5 billion years, it follows that in most cases the stars that were marked as promising life are actually older. If life appeared in them, it took them longer to develop than us.