Our Earth is composed of flint rocks and an iron core with a thin layer of water and life. But the first potentially inhabited worlds could have been formed quite differently. New research indicates that carbon planets composed of graphite, carbides and diamond formed in the early universe. Astronomers could find these diamond worlds by looking for rare classes of stars.
“This work shows that even low carbon stars in our solar system can contain planets,” said lead author and Harvard graduate Natalie Mashian. “We have good reason to believe that alien life was carbon-based, just like life on Earth, so this also bodes well for the possibility of life in the early universe. We will never know if carbon worlds exist unless we can confirm their direct detection. '
According to Natalie, the primitive universe was composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, and lacked the chemical elements, such as carbon and oxygen, necessary for life to begin as we know it. Only after the first stars exploded as supernovae, and the second generation of stars formed from their remnants, life on planets became possible.
