The Sun has a Sibling?!

Credit: Ivan Ramirez/Tim Jones/McDonald Observatory
Image from: sciencedaily.com

You didn't read that wrongly -- yes, the Sun has a sibling. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a 'long-lost brother' of the Sun. The star, HD 162826, is 110 light years away in the constellation Hercules and is only 15% larger than the Sun.

Scientists believe that it is almost definitely a star that was created from the same cloud of gas from which the Sun formed after discovering that its chemical composition and dynamics are very similar to our Sun. This means that not only was it made of similar materials, where it was, where it is going and how it is orbiting around the center of the Milky Way is also very similar.

After studying it for 15 years, scientists at the University have ruled out any 'hot Jupiters', ie gigantic planets that orbit close to the star, also akin to our Sun. What does this then mean? Is it possible, that like the Sun, it has a rocky planet containing water roughly the size of the Earth orbiting around it in the Goldilocks zone*?

This brings me to my question of the day: What are the chances of HD 162826 supporting life as we know it? I personally believe that it is very likely. Do post your answers in the comments section :)

Reference

I. Ramirez, A. T. Bajkova, V. V. Bobylev, I. U. Roderer, D. L. Lambert, M. Endl, W. D. Cochran, P. J. Macqueen and R. A. Wittenmyer. Elemental Abundances of Solar Sibling Candidates. Astrophysical Journal, 2014 (in press)

*The Goldilocks zone is a zone that is of just the right distance from a star where water can exist in a liquid state, enabling it to support life.