![This artist's rendition shows one possible appearance for the planet HD 219134b, the nearest confirmed rocky exoplanet found to date outside our solar system. The planet is 1.6 times the size of Earth, and whips around its star in just three days. Scientists predict that the scorching-hot planet -- known to be rocky through measurements of its mass and size -- would have a rocky, partially molten surface with geological activity, including possibly volcanoes.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z9zsLkba7JAfNMAXf94ftg-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
The oldest continents in the Milky Way may be 5 billion years older than Earth's
Several exoplanets at the edge of our galaxy could have formed continents — and advanced life — 5 billion years earlier than Earth, new research suggests.
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