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The evolution of planetary atmospheres is influenced by space time which generally includes events on the Sun and on space near the Earth. In a recent study, researchers analyze the relationship between stars and planets outside the Solar System called exoplanets. Researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) published their findings in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notices.
Since the confirmation of the first exoplanet in the early 1990s, scientists have been looking for signs of life in these planets, such as traces of liquid water. Today, several studies have confirmed the existence of thousands of exoplanets with some classified as habitable.
In the study, the team discusses how stellar flares affect the atmosphere of exoplanets, affecting their habitability. A great example of this is how solar flares affect the Earth’s atmosphere.
Space Weather
Solar flares are sudden bursts of energy on the giant star due to magnetic fields near the sunspots. Occasionally, explosions are accompanied by coronal mass ejection or plasma ejections.
When plasma is released by the solar wind, they make their way into space, affecting the weather and could cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth or a disturbance on the planet’s magnetic fields. The solar wind could cause damage to satellites and potentially expose astronauts to dangerous levels of radiation.
NASA and other scientists also recently announced the new solar cycle this year, or when the Sun’s magnetic poles will change. The cycle affects solar activity which then has an impact on space weather and the earth’s upper atmosphere.
Read also: Experts have discovered a rogue planet the size of Earth floating in the Milky Way
Stellar flares that affect the atmosphere
In the study, the researchers noted that “effects induced by space weather conditions include planetary atmospheric losses,” such as the relationship between exoplanets and surrounding stars. Another factor of the stars is extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) emissions.
Stellar EUV “heats a planetary atmosphere and can lead to hydrodynamic escape,” the authors wrote. Hydrodynamic escape is when hydrogen gags escape a planet’s atmosphere even if it has a strong gravitational field.
The team identified specific stars that can host habitable exoplanets based on how their atmospheres have eroded over time. They also found that frequent, low-energy flares impacted planetary atmospheres more than high-energy flares which were less frequent.
The findings provided new insights into the factors affecting the habitability of planets beyond the Solar System and how the Sun provides a good example of stellar flares affecting planetary atmospheres. Additionally, scientists noted the need for better atmospheric escape models that lead to atmospheric erosion and make exoplanets less habitable or habitable.
“Given the close proximity of exoplanets to host stars, it is crucial to understand how space weather events linked to those stars can affect the exoplanet’s habitability,” said Dimitra Atri. “The next step in the research would be to expand our dataset to analyze stellar flares from a wider variety of stars to see the long-term effects of stellar activity and to identify more potentially habitable exoplanets.”
Read also: Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet that rained rocks with 60-mile deep seas of lava
Find out more news and information about exoplanets in the Science Times.
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