Astronomers have discovered a planet they believe is covered in active volcanoes. In a study published Tuesday A multinational team of scientists said they have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet that they believe may have water on part of its surface. Its boring name is LP 791-18 d (unfortunately, no one thought of calling it that ) about 90 light-years from Earth constellation crater. LP 791-18 d orbits a progressively closed red dwarf, which means that the planet does not have a day-night cycle like Earth. Instead, one part of LP 791-18 d is constantly illuminated by sunlight, while the other is always in darkness.
“The day side will be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface,” said Bjorn Bennick, an astronomer. But the amount of volcanic activity that’s going on across the planet can maintain an atmosphere that allows water to condense on the night side.” Whoever studied the planet, told NASA. .
The LP 791-18 system contains at least two other planets called LP 791-18 b and c. The latter is two and a half times larger than Earth and has seven times its mass. It also affects LP 791-18 d’s orbit, causing the system to move in an elliptical path around the Sun. This means that LP 791-18 d decays each time it completes an orbit. “These ruptures can create enough internal friction to greatly heat the planet’s interior and generate volcanic activity on its surface,” NASA said.
“The big question in astrobiology, the field that extensively studies the origins of life on Earth and beyond, is whether tectonic or volcanic activity is necessary for life,” said study co-author Jesse Christianson. “In addition to providing an atmosphere, these processes can reduce material that would otherwise have sunk to the bottom and become trapped in the crust, including materials that we think are important to life, such as carbon.”
NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency are already planning to replace the James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared imaging instruments on LP 791-18c. The team that discovered LP 791-18 d believes the exoplanet will be an “exceptional candidate for atmospheric studies during the flight”. Most notably, he helped discover the retired LP 791-18 d before it was decommissioned by NASA in 2020. This week, the US Space Force To explore the possibility of bringing a telescope out of retirement.
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