Newly-discovered super-Earth heats up & freezes every 300 days
The search for extraterrestrial life has led scientists to discover a plethora of exoplanets, each with its unique characteristics that set it apart from the others. One such fascinating discovery is a newly-found super-Earth that orbits a Sun-like star just 20 light-years from Earth. This remarkable planet, classified as a “super-Earth”, is unlike any other known planet in our solar system, with its extreme climate that swings from super-heated to super-chill every 300 days.
Located in the habitable zone of its star, the newly-discovered super-Earth, dubbed K2-141b, is a tantalizing find for astronomers and astrobiologists alike. The planet’s size is bigger than that of Earth, but smaller than the gas giants Neptune and Uranus, earning it the classification of a “super-Earth”. This size range is particularly intriguing, as it is thought to be a sweet spot for planets to support life.
So, what makes K2-141b so extraordinary? The answer lies in its unique orbit. The planet doesn’t follow a circular path around its star, but instead, it orbits in an oval shape. This unusual orbit is responsible for the extreme temperature fluctuations it experiences. For the first part of its year, the planet is scorching hot, with surface temperatures reaching as high as 1,800°F (1,000°C). This is due to the close proximity to its star during this period.
However, as K2-141b moves further away from its star, the temperatures plummet, dropping to -400°F (-240°C) or even colder. This extreme cold is due to the planet’s distance from its star, which is similar to the distance between Earth and Neptune. The planet’s surface temperature can drop to such extreme levels that any liquid water on its surface would freeze, making it challenging for life as we know it to exist.
This extreme climate fluctuation occurs every 300 days, which is roughly the same amount of time it takes for K2-141b to complete one orbit around its star. This means that the planet experiences two distinct seasons, with one being scorching hot and the other being freezing cold.
The discovery of K2-141b was made possible by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, which has been instrumental in detecting thousands of exoplanets since its launch in 2009. The telescope uses the transit method to detect exoplanets, which involves measuring the decrease in brightness of a star as a planet passes in front of it.
The findings were published in a paper titled “Discovery Alert: Super-Earth Swings from Super-Heated to Super-Chill” on the NASA Science website. The research team, led by Dr. Andrew Vanderburg from the University of Texas at Austin, analyzed data from the Kepler space telescope and ground-based telescopes to confirm the existence of the super-Earth.
While the discovery of K2-141b is an exciting find, it also raises questions about the potential for life on the planet. The extreme climate fluctuations make it challenging for life as we know it to exist, but the possibility of life existing in extreme environments is not entirely ruled out.
The discovery of K2-141b serves as a reminder of the vast diversity of planets that exist in our universe, each with its unique characteristics. The search for extraterrestrial life is an ongoing effort, and discoveries like this one bring us closer to understanding the potential for life beyond Earth.
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