[ad_1]
Scientists have uncovered new details about a hellish lava planet light years from Earth that is unbearably hot, rains rocks and has lava oceans more than 60 miles deep.
I know, I explain the lines, but K2-141b, the planet in question, is nowhere near us.
The exoplanet, meaning it lies outside our solar system, is home to one of the most “extreme” environments discovered, according to a study first published in the Royal Astronomical Society’s monthly announcements by scientists from McGill University in Montreal. of York University in Toronto and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in India.
Artist’s impression of the lava planet K2-141b. At the center of the great illuminated region is an ocean of molten rock dominated by an atmosphere of rock vapor. Supersonic winds blow towards the icy, airless night side, condensing into rain of rock and snow, slowly flowing into the warmest region of the magma ocean.
(Julie Roussy, McGill Graphic Design and Getty Images)
RARE MARINE TURTLE DISCOVERED ON SOUTH CAROLINA BEACH IN ‘ELUSIVE FIND’
“Among the most extreme planets discovered beyond the borders of our solar system are the lava planets,” McGill explained in a press release, “fiery worlds that revolve so close to their host star that some regions are likely oceans of molten lava. “.
K2-141b also has supersonic wind speeds in excess of 3,000 mph.
Neptune has the fastest wind speeds of any planet in our solar system, which can exceed 1,100 mph, 1.5 times the speed of sound, according to NASA.
The planet’s surface, atmosphere and ocean all appear to be made of rocks, and “the extreme weather predicted by their analysis could permanently change K2-141b’s surface and atmosphere over time,” the statement said. McGill.
TWO PLANETS, INCLUDING THE “SUPER EARTH”, DISCOVERED AT 120 LIGHT YEARS
“The study is the first to make predictions on K2-141b weather conditions that can be detected from hundreds of light years away with next-generation telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope,” lead author Giang Nguyen, PhD student at York The university that worked under the supervision of Professor Nicolas Cowan of McGill University in the study, he said.
More than half of the planet also has constant daylight because it is so close to its host star that it is “gravitationally locked” and the same side always faces the star.
The dark side of the planet, alternatively, has temperatures that can drop below -300 degrees Fahrenheit.
The lowest temperature ever recorded by a weather station on Earth was -128 degrees in the Antarctic near the South Pole in 1983, according to the American Geophysical Union.
Similarly water on earth evaporates into the atmosphere and returns in the form of rain, the planet’s rock vapor atmosphere evaporates and rains like rocks.
“On K2-141b, the mineral vapor formed by the evaporated rock is carried to the frigid side of the night by the supersonic winds and the” rain “of the rocks in an ocean of magma,” the statement said. “The resulting currents ebb towards the warm side of the exoplanet, where the rock evaporates once again.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“All the rocky planets, including Earth, were born as fused worlds but then quickly cooled and solidified. The lava planets give us a rare glimpse at this stage of planetary evolution, ”says Professor Cowan of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Source link
