Solar-Twin Discovered

When I was just a child, and still at times today, I was always overcome with the most exquisite sense of awe at news of this kind. Then, just like now, I would take a few moments to contemplate the new reality.

The object of my contemplation is HIP 56948, (What a cool name!), a star heretofore unknown in the constellation of Draco. A place whose history is no doubt as extensive and rich as our own, in spite of our ignorance of its existence; a condition that is now at last cured by the news of its curious and uncanny kinship to our own mother star, Sol.

In this case, I sent my thoughts through space and time to our brother star where I orbited, languidly bathing in its warmth at more or less the same distance that our own Earth transits from our sun, and admired it.

What wondrous planets orbit here, now for a thousand-million years more than our own Earth has accompanied our sun?

Has one of them harbored creatures, who at night look up at the stars and wonder if someone else exist, like themselves?

...and perhaps, just maybe, some scientist have announced the discovery of a twin star, with the same chemical and physical properties as their own home-star, only a thousand-million years younger, and that it can be seen there, but a mere 200 light-years away, in the constellation of...

...and whether some young being, having read the news, took a few moments to send his thoughts through space and time to this brother star, where he orbited, languidly bathing in its warmth at more or less at the same distance that his own planet transits from his star, and admired it.

...and perhaps, just maybe, he wondered...

“What wondrous planets orbit here, a thousand-million years younger than our own...?”