Exoplanets are usually discovered when they pass in front of their host star, this causes a dip in the star’s light and indicates the presence of a planet. However, a new study suggests that under the right conditions tidal forces might cause a planet to warm enough for it to radiate heat.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:03 Exoplanets are usually discovered when they pass in front of their host star.
00:06 This causes a dip in the star's light and indicates the presence of a planet.
00:10 However, a new study suggests that under the right conditions,
00:13 tidal forces might cause a planet to warm enough for it to radiate heat.
00:17 The current observations of such a phenomenon are being studied in exoplanetary system HD 104067.
00:24 Tidal forces are the gravitational interactions between massive cosmic objects,
00:28 like between stars, moons, and planets.
00:30 Within star system HD 104067,
00:33 an inner-orbiting planet is believed to be circling its host star once every 55 days.
00:38 However, at least two other giant planets in the system are pulling it outward,
00:42 causing what experts are calling the "perfect tidal storm."
00:45 This could be raising the temperature of the yet-to-be-confirmed planet
00:48 as high as 4200 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:50 That's enough heat to cause the planet to glow and likely cause significant volcanic activity,
00:55 similar to Jupiter's tidally affected moon Io,
00:58 the most volcanically active place in our solar system.
01:01 With one of the researchers and professor of planetary astrophysics,
01:05 Dr. Stephen Kane telling Universe Today,
01:07 "This system is a great example of extreme environments the planets can find themselves in.
01:12 There have been several cases of terrestrial planets
01:15 that are close to their star and heated by the energy from the star,
01:18 but very few cases where the tidal energy is melting the planet from within."
01:23 [Music]
01:25 (upbeat music)