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The Busy Center of the Lagoon Nebula

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Aliens haven't contacted us. Scientists found a compelling reason why. (mashable.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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tectonic planet are rare

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I don't think that we are pretty early. Our galaxy already exists for so long, it's unfathomable. Yet, it seems to be empty and lifeless.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

My mistake, I thought you had said something to that effect.

Well for what it's worth, we do seem to be early. Our sun appears to be among the first wave of "3rd generation stars" (stars that were born from the nebula of a supernova of a star that was born the same way, from another supernova). It's thought that only those 3rd Gen stars will have planets with enough heavy elements to support life. All elements heavier than iron [26] on the periodic table, can only be created naturally in a supernova.

So yeah, the theory is, if we're one of the first 3rd Gen stars out there in this galaxy, and if life formed on this planet basically as soon as it could have after the earth cooled enough, then we're probably early on the scene for life.