Ancient Planet in a Globular Cluster Core

Similar

Ancient Planet in a Globular Cluster Core

description

Summary

B1620-26, M4
English: A rich starry sky fills the view from an ancient gas-giant planet in the core of the globular star cluster M4, as imagined in this artist's concept. The 13-billion-year-old planet orbits a helium white-dwarf star and the millisecond pulsar B1620-26, seen at lower left. The globular cluster is deficient in heavier elements for making planets, so the existence of such a world implies that planet formation may have been quite efficient and common in the early universe.

date_range

Date

10/07/2003
create

Source

NASA
copyright

Copyright info

Public Domain

Explore more

artwork
artwork