--- title: Ancient Solar System Like Our Own Discovered by Kepler description: Astronomers have discovered an ancient solar system very similar to our own that dates back to the “dawn of the galaxy.” canonical: https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-28T09:11:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:56:03.088Z article:section: Science og:title: Ancient Solar System Like Our Own Discovered og:description: The system dates back to the “dawn of the galaxy" og:url: https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33f2891b791bcbe3/69877c4ae20a877df2a84c4b/old-solar-system_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Old Solar System og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ancient Solar System Like Our Own Discovered twitter:description: The system dates back to the “dawn of the galaxy" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33f2891b791bcbe3/69877c4ae20a877df2a84c4b/old-solar-system_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Astronomers Discover an Ancient Solar System That’s Very Similar to Our Own > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jan 28, 2015 9:11 AM UTC  This artist's rendering made available by Tiago Campante and Peter Devine shows the Kepler-444 star system, surrounded by at least five earth-sized planets. This artist's rendering made available by Tiago Campante and Peter Devine shows the Kepler-444 star system, surrounded by at least five earth-sized planets. Tiago Campante, Peter Devine—AP by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jan 28, 2015 9:11 AM UTC Astronomers have [discovered](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-31002598) an ancient solar system very similar to our own that dates back to the “dawn of the galaxy.” Using NASA’s Kepler telescope, a team of international scientists found a star named Kepler-444 and five orbiting planets that are similar in size to Earth, the BBC reports. Kepler-444 was formed 11.2 billion years ago, making it the oldest known system of its kind. “By the time the Earth formed, the planets in this system were already older than our planet is today,” said Dr. Tiago Campate, the lead author of the study. The discovery comes after four years’ of observations taken from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Researchers say the discovery of older Earth-sized planets could provide scope for the existence of life on other ancient planets. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-31002598)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/"},"headline":"Astronomers Discover an Ancient Solar System That’s Very Similar to Our Own","datePublished":"2015-01-28T09:11:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:56:03.088Z","description":"Kepler-444 could help pinpoint when planets started to form","url":"https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/","keywords":["astronomy","Space","galaxy","Life","solar system"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33f2891b791bcbe3/69877c4ae20a877df2a84c4b/old-solar-system_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33f2891b791bcbe3/69877c4ae20a877df2a84c4b/old-solar-system_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Old Solar System","caption":"Old Solar System","creditText":"Tiago Campante, Peter Devine—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/astronomy/","name":"astronomy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3685500/astronomers-solar-system-kepler/","name":"Astronomers Discover an Ancient Solar System That’s Very Similar to Our Own"}}]}] ```