A Galaxy's Age Determines What Type Of Planets It Can Form

October 22, 2025 Universe Today

A Galaxy's Age Determines What Type Of Planets It Can Form
By Evan Gough (https://ift.tt/ZJR50vl)

A variety of different rocky planets are shown in this illustration. New research shows how different types of rocky planets form depending on how old the galaxy they're forming in is. It's all because of stellar nucleosynthesis. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt

The chemistry of a galaxy changes over time as generations of stars live and die, spreading the results of their nucleosynthesis out into space. But stars with different masses produce different elements, and these stars have different lifespans. That means that over time, the materials readily available for planet formation also change.

October 23, 2025 at 02:34AM
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