An exoplanet covered in ice and lava shows the distant future of the Earth

In a study published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices, an international team of scientists describes a hellish exoplanet, providing a glimpse into the distant future of the Earth.

By analyzing the illumination pattern of exoplanet K2-141b, the team found that about two-thirds of the planet is exposed to perpetual daylight. K2-141b is an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a dwarf star in the constellation Sagittarius. K2-141b belongs to a subset of rocky planets that orbit very close to their star. The planet needs only six hours to complete a full orbit with respect to the stars. This proximity keeps the exoplanet gravitationally locked in place, which means that the same side always faces the star.

Based on this observation, the researchers sought to simulate environmental conditions on the planetary surface.

The night side experiences freezing temperatures below -300 ° F. The day side of the exoplanet, at an estimated temperature of 5,400 ° F, is hot enough not only to melt the rocks, but also to vaporize them. Just like the water cycle on Earth, where water evaporates, rises into the atmosphere, condenses and falls back in the rain, K2-141b rocks and minerals evaporate, forming a thin atmosphere composed of sodium, carbon monoxide. silicon and silicon dioxide. The mineral vapor follows the temperature gradient, forming a current from the hot side of the planet to the icy side.

The current state of K2-141b is reminiscent of what Earth’s distant future may be.

In 7.5 billion years, our Sun will expand to become a red giant. On the dark side of the Earth, without an insulating atmosphere blown away by powerful solar storms, the temperature will drop to -400 ° F. On the sunny side, the temperature will rise to 4,000 ° F. Basalt, one of the most common rocks on Earth, it melts at 2,000-4,000 ° F.

On the side facing the Red Giant, the Earth’s surface will become so hot that an ocean of boiling magma will form, which will slowly begin to evaporate. Along the boundary between the hot and cold sides of the Earth, vaporized elements, such as iron and silica, will condense to form droplets of molten metal. This perpetual rain of molten metals will fuel a plume of metal, slowly sinking towards the now solidified iron core of the Earth.

On the dark side, the vapor will form crystals of iron, sodium, magnesium and potassium, which slowly fall from the sky like today’s snowflakes on a cold winter day. This silicate snow will form continents of feldspathic slag and feed the rocky glaciers, slowly flowing towards the magma-ocean that covers half the Earth.

The other half of the Earth, in colder regions, away from the now hot Sun, will form an ice cap made up of frozen water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon.