posted on Jan, 21 2004 @ 08:06 PM
Seems those two clever antipodeans have found not just one system but an entire habitable zone, using methods of distance from dangers, chances of
metal dense planets etc.
astronomy.swin.edu.au...
Theres also a pdf of the full paper published January 2 2004, discribing the methods used and the main area's.
"We modeled the evolution of the Milky Way to trace the distribution in space and time of four prerequisites for complex life: the presence of a
host star, enough heavy elements to form terrestrial planets, sufficient time for biological evolution and an environment free of life-extinguishing
supernovae. We identified the Galactic habitable zone (GHZ) as an annular region between 7 and 9 kiloparsecs from the Galactic center that widens with
time and is composed of stars that formed between 8 and 4 billion years ago. This GHZ yields an age distribution for the complex life that may inhabit
our Galaxy. We found that 75% of the stars in the GHZ are older than the Sun."
astronomy.swin.edu.au...
Finally theres a movie showing how this "Galactic Habitable Zone" would have developed in our galaxies lifetime. I'm not sure if it was my
connection playing up or a problem with their server, but it took me a while to load.
astronomy.swin.edu.au...
Anyone that doesn't want to wait for a movie but wishes to see a few high res images.
astronomy.swin.edu.au...
[Edited on 21-1-2004 by feygan]