Heavy metal stars produce Earth-Like planets

[Ichingcarpenter]

New research reveals that, like their giant cousins, rocky planets are more likely to be found orbiting high metallicity stars. Furthermore, these planets are more plentiful around low mass stars. This could have important implications for the search for life outside of Earth.
Kevin Schlaufman and Gregory Laughlin, both of the University of California at Santa Cruz, studied the 997 stars with candidate planets thought to be in orbit around them, as reported by Kepler's science team last February. Schlaufman and Laughlin confirmed that both large and small planets were more likely to be found around stars with higher metallicities.

For astronomers, elements other than hydrogen and helium are considered "metals." Stars with high metallicities contain a significant amount of other elements. These metals were first formed when early stars, composed of the two basic gases hydrogen and helium, died in a violent supernova, spewing their contents into space.

Sally Dodson-Robinson, of the University of Texas at Austin, noted that it wasn't surprising to find that terrestrial planets tend to form around more metallic stars.
"Planets formed from the same raw materials as their star does," she explained.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-heavy-metal-stars-earth-like-planets.html