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<\/p>\nUsing data collected by NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer Space Telescope and NASA\u2019s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a team of scientists has discovered an exoplanet that could potentially be covered with volcanoes. The exoplanet is Earth-sized, and the team\u2019s results suggest that the gravitational pull of a neighboring exoplanet could be causing an increase in volcanic activity on the exoplanet.<\/p>\n
If the results and conclusions from the team, which is led by Merrin Peterson of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) at the University of Montreal, are true, the exoplanet, named LP 791-18 d, could be extremely similar to one of Jupiter\u2019s four Galilean moons, Io \u2014 which is the most volcanically active celestial body in our solar system \u2014 and undergo regular outbursts of volcanic activity.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cLP 791-18 d is tidally locked, which means the same side constantly faces its star. The day side would probably be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface. But the amount of volcanic activity we suspect occurs all over the planet could sustain an atmosphere, which may allow water to condense on the night side,\u201d said co-author Bj\u00f6rn Benneke, who is also based out of iREx.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Figure showing the orbital separations of the three planets within the LP 791-18 system. (Credit: Peterson et al.)<\/p>\n
Located approximately 90 light-years away in the constellation Crater, LP 791-18 d orbits a small red dwarf star. The red dwarf\u2019s star system not only consists of LP 791-18 d but two additional exoplanets, named LP 791-18 b and c, both of which were discovered before LP 791-18 d. The innermost planet, LP 791-18 b, is 20 percent larger than Earth, while the outer planet, LP 791-18 c, is 2.5 times the size of Earth and more than seven times Earth\u2019s mass. Given the increased mass of LP 791-18 c, the planet has a greater gravitational pull than both LP 791-18 b and d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When orbiting around their host star, LP 791-18 c and d\u2019s orbits bring the planets extremely close to one another. When the planets ultimately pass one another, the gravity from LP 791-18 c tugs on the surface of LP 791-18 d, causing internal friction to occur within LP 791-18 d. This internal friction then produces and increases volcanic activity on the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big question in astrobiology, the field that broadly studies the origins of life on Earth and beyond, is if tectonic or volcanic activity is necessary for life. In addition to potentially providing an atmosphere, these processes could churn up materials that would otherwise sink down and get trapped in the crust, including those we think are important for life, like carbon,\u201d said Jessie Christiansen, co-author and scientist at NASA\u2019s Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in California.<\/p>\n
Astronomy (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n This exact same process occurs on Io, with the gravitational pull of the other three Galilean moons and Jupiter leading to Io\u2019s surface being stretched and contracted \u2014 which then causes an increase in volcanic activity. Io\u2019s extreme volcanism has been observed by a plethora of missions, with NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission even capturing a volcano erupting on Io\u2019s surface when it flew past Jupiter in February 2007.<\/p>\n New Horizon\u2019s image of a volcano erupting on Io. (Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory\/Southwest Research Institute)<\/p>\n In addition to its volcanic surface, LP 791-18 d sits on the edge of its host star\u2019s habitable zone, or the region around a star wherein conditions are favorable for the formation of liquid water on planets. If Peterson et al.\u2019s predictions about LP 791-18 d\u2019s geologic activity are correct, the team believes that the planet\u2019s volcanism and location within the habitable zone means that the formation of an atmosphere is possible. Furthermore, the temperatures on the night side of LP 791-18 d could be low enough for water to condense on the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n While no future observations of LP 791-18 d have been announced, NASA\u2019s powerful James Webb Space Telescope will soon be used to observe LP 791-18 c. Webb\u2019s observations of LP 791-18 c will provide Peterson et al. with valuable information that will help them further understand how LP 791-18 d\u2019s volcanism is produced.<\/p>\n As mentioned, the team\u2019s results utilized data from NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer infrared space telescope. Specifically, Peterson et al. used data Spitzer collected when observing LP 791-18 d\u2019s star system as a whole. Spitzer\u2019s observations of the system were among the last observations the telescope would take before it was decommissioned in January 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is incredible to read about the continuation of discoveries and publications years beyond Spitzer\u2019s end of mission. That really shows the success of our first-class engineers and scientists. Together they built not only a spacecraft but also a data set that continues to be an asset for the astrophysics community,\u201d said Spitzer project manager Joseph Hunt.<\/p>\n Peterson et al.\u2019s research was published in the journal Nature<\/em> on May 17.<\/p>\n (Lead image: Artist\u2019s illustration of LP 791-18 d. Credit: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Chris Smith (KRBwyle))<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Using data collected by NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer Space Telescope and NASA\u2019s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a team of scientists has discovered an exoplanet that could potentially be covered with volcanoes. The exoplanet is Earth-sized, and the team\u2019s results suggest that the gravitational pull of a neighboring exoplanet could be causing an increase in volcanic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[559,8443,190,1561,2370,2398,8126,8282],"class_list":["post-24275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-exoplanets","tag-lp-791-18-d","tag-nasa","tag-planetary-science","tag-spitzer","tag-tess","tag-volcanism","tag-volcanoes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24275"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Tvashtar_volcano_on_Io_from_New_Horizons-350x350.jpg\")
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