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Lava planets are a class of rocky exoplanets that orbit near their star, melting their surface parts. In fact, daytime temperatures are high enough to handle transport and eclipse spectroscopy, as well as the rock vapor atmosphere detectable by the phase curves.
According to scientists from McGill University, the University of York and the Indian Institute of Science Education, the atmosphere and weather cycle of at least one exoplanet are also unknown, including evaporation and precipitation of rocks, supersonic winds with speed above 5000 km per hour and magma at depths up to 100 km.
A planet K2-141b, the Earth-sized exoplanet with surface, ocean and atmosphere are all made of the same material: rocks. Using computer simulations, the scientists predicted conditions on K2-141b. Through their analysis, extreme weather conditions can permanently change K2-141b’s surface and atmosphere over time.
In researching the Exoplanet’s brightness model, the team found that two-thirds of K2-141b experience permanent daylight, unlike the bright hemisphere we’re used to on Earth. Since K2-141b belongs to a subset of rocky planets orbiting very close to their star, this proximity Exoplanet locked in place of gravity.
Speech by Professor Nicholas Cowan of the Department of Earth and Planet Sciences at McGill University “The night side experiences temperatures as low as -200 ° C, around 3000 ° C, the daytime rocks of the exoplanet not only melt but also become hot enough to evaporate, eventually creating a thin atmosphere in some areas. . “
The rock vapor created by the extreme heat causes precipitation in the atmosphere. Just like turning on the Earth water cycle, where water evaporates, rises to the atmosphere, freezes and returns in the form of rain, so K2-141b also contains sodium, silicon monoxide and silicon dioxide. The mineral vapor formed by the evaporated rock is blown away by the supersonic winds at night, and the rocks “rain” into the magma ocean. The resulting streams ebb into the exoplanet’s warm daylight, where the rock evaporates once again.
Scientists observed, “The next step is to check if these predictions are correct. We now have data from the Spitzer Space Telescope which should give them a first glimpse of day and night temperatures on the exoplanet. “
With the launch of the James Web Space Telescope in 2021, they will also confirm whether the atmosphere is behaving as it should.
Journal reference:
- T. Jiang Nguyen et al. Atmospheric modeling of the lava planet K2-141b: implications for low and high resolution spectroscopy. DOI: 10.1093 / mnras / staa2487
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