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Stellar Close-up |
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Delta PavonisA very ancient star, Delta Pavonis is slightly less massive than our own sun, but has already entered old age on its way to becoming a red giant. One estimate places its age at more than two and a half times that of Sol and Earth (11.4 x 109 years), and the star's metallicity is roughly twice that of our sun1.In fiction, Delta Pavonis is home to the planet Caladan and the House Atreides in Frank Herbert's highly acclaimed novel, Dune. This star has also been listed as the "Best SETI target" in a survey of nearby stars2. Does Delta Pavonis have an ancient, Earth-like planet? If it does, what would it be like? And with its sun 18% hotter than before, would life be able to survive? Find out more by clicking on the "Planets" button, below.
Next Close-up: 18 Scorpii — Solar twin at nearly twice Sol's age. Also, check out the list of past Stellar Close-ups.
1 Nordstrom, et al, "Geneva-Copenhagen Survey of Solar neighbourhood," Astronomy & Astrophysics, 418, 989-1019 (2004).
2 Turnbull, Margaret C., Tarter, Jill C., "Target Selection for SETI. II. Tycho-2 Dwarfs, Old Open Clusters, and the Nearest 100 Stars," The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 149-2, 423-436 (2003).
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