This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here
Lava planet is said to be rare in discovery but believed to be a
billion of them out there on the vast universe or space not yet to be discovered
or telescope. It is a planet that has lava and magma.
Recently, a new lava planet was found and name “K2-141b”. The lava planet is located 210 light years away from
planet Earth and it is an exoplanet. It orbits extremely closely to its sun or star.
It completes a revolution in just six to seven hours. It has a molten surface
or a molten rock surface or an ocean of molten surface and according to the
news almost half of the planet is a molten magma. It has a violent weather condition
and raining rocks down on its molten surface and a howling wind.
“"Almost
half of the planet is molten magma," said lead study author Tue Giang
Nguyen, a doctoral student at York University in Toronto. "The atmosphere
created by vaporized rocks spreads around the planet. “That vaporized silicon
dioxide, or quartz, forms clouds and rains or snows down onto the molten
surface below, he said.” (CNN)
“Exoplanet K2-141b
has winds that clock in at about 3,100 miles per hour (5,000 kilometers per
hour), and its magma ocean is estimated to have a depth of about 86 miles (140
kilometers), according to Nguyen's calculations.”(CNN)
“The
extraordinary winds dominate one side of the planet but are totally absent on
the other. The bright side of K2-141b is scorching, with temperatures likely
around 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3,000 degrees Celsius. That hot side has an
atmosphere made of silicon dioxide, more commonly known as quartz. Because
K2-141b orbits so closely in the brilliant glare of its star, about two-thirds
of the world is illuminated at any given time. One-third is dark, making for a
frigid planet with temperatures of minus 392 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 200
degrees Celsius. That two-third light/one-third darkness split is unusual
compared to planets in our solar system, such as Earth and Jupiter, where half
of the planet would be lit by the sun at any given time.”(CNN)
“Lava
planets are quite rare, Cowan [ study coauthor Nicolas Cowan, an associate
professor in the departments of physics and Earth and planetary sciences at
McGill University in Montreal] noted -- just one in 1,000 stars would be able
to host one. But given the enormity of the cosmos, there could be billions of
lava worlds out there.”(CNN)
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| image from CNN website |
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