Rocky planets may have formed 100 million years after the Big Bang

New research from the University of Portsmouth suggests that the fundamental ingredients for rocky planets may have emerged as early as 100 million years after the Big Bang. This timeline challenges previous scientific assumptions that significant planet formation occurred several billion years into cosmic history.

The study indicates that the earliest stars, which were much more massive than modern stars, acted as the primary sources of heavy elements. When these stars ended their lifecycles through Pop III supernovae—specifically energetic pair-instability supernovae—they distributed vast quantities of carbon, oxygen, and iron into surrounding gas clouds.

Computer simulations conducted by researchers, including Dr. Daniel Whalen and Chris Jessop, show that this enriched material can form rotating disks around young stars. These disks can accumulate enough solid material to create several Earth-masses worth of planetary precursors, even containing substantial water content, remarkably early in the history of the Universe.