Hubbles observations of a prolonged region of charged carbon particles that surround the exoplanet HAT-P-11b and streaming away in a long tail are best explained by magnetic field, the very first such discovery on a world outside of our solar system.” This is the very first time the signature of an exoplanets magnetic field has been directly spotted on a planet outside our solar system,” said Gilda Ballester, an accessory research study professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and one of the papers co-authors. “A strong magnetic field on a world like Earth can secure its environment and surface from direct bombardment of the energetic particles that make up the solar wind. These processes greatly impact the development of life on a world like Earth due to the fact that the magnetic field shelters organisms from these energetic particles.”
In our solar system, the icy gas worlds, Neptune and Uranus, are abundant in metals however have weak magnetic fields, while the much bigger gas planets, Jupiter and Saturn, have low metallicity and strong magnetic fields.
Artists impression of HAT-P-11b, an exoplanet orbiting its host star at simply one-twentieth of the range from the Earth to the sun. Credit: Denis Bajram/University of Geneva
Scientists have identified the very first signature of a magnetic field surrounding a world beyond our solar system. Earths electromagnetic field serves as a guard against energetic particles from the sun understood as the solar wind. Electromagnetic fields might play comparable roles on other worlds.
A global group of astronomers used data from the Hubble Space Telescope to discover the signature of an electromagnetic field in a world outside our solar system. The finding, described in a paper in the journal Nature Astronomy, marks the very first time such a function has actually been seen on an exoplanet.
A magnetic field finest describes the observations of an extended area of charged carbon particles that surround the world and stream far from it in a long tail. Electromagnetic fields play an essential function in protecting planetary atmospheres, so the capability to spot the electromagnetic fields of exoplanets is a substantial step towards better understanding what these alien worlds might look like.
The group utilized Hubble to observe the exoplanet HAT-P-11b, a Neptune-sized world 123 light-years from Earth, pass directly throughout the face of its host star 6 times in what is known as a “transit.” The observations were made in the ultraviolet light spectrum, which is simply beyond what the human eye can see.
Hubble identified carbon ions– charged particles that connect with electromagnetic fields– surrounding the world in what is called a magnetosphere. A magnetosphere is an area around a celestial things (such as Earth) that is formed by the thingss interaction with the solar wind produced by its host star.
Hubbles observations of an extended area of charged carbon particles that surround the exoplanet HAT-P-11b and streaming away in a long tail are best described by magnetic field, the first such discovery on a world outside of our solar system. The world is portrayed as the small circle near the. 1 AU equates to the distance in between the Earth and the sun.
” This is the very first time the signature of an exoplanets electromagnetic field has been straight found on a planet outside our planetary system,” stated Gilda Ballester, an adjunct research study professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and one of the papers co-authors. “A strong magnetic field on a planet like Earth can protect its environment and surface from direct bombardment of the energetic particles that comprise the solar wind. These procedures heavily impact the evolution of life on a world like Earth since the magnetic field shelters organisms from these energetic particles.”
The discovery of HAT-P-11bs magnetosphere is a substantial step towards an improved understanding of the habitability of an exoplanet. Not all worlds and moons in our solar system have their own electromagnetic fields, and the connection in between magnetic fields and a planets habitability still requires more research study, according to the scientists.
” HAT-P-11 b has actually proven to be an extremely exciting target, since Hubbles UV transit observations have actually revealed a magnetosphere, seen as both an extended ion element around the planet and long tail of leaving ions,” Ballester said, including that this basic technique could be used to identify magnetospheres on a variety of exoplanets and to assess their function in potential habitability.
Ballester, a primary private investigator of one of the Hubble Space Telescope programs that observed HAT-P-11b, added to the selection of this specific target for UV research studies. A key discovery was the observation of carbon ions not only in an area surrounding the world, however also extending in a long tail that streamed away from the planet at typical speeds of 100,000 miles per hour. The tail reached into area for a minimum of 1 astronomical system, the distance in between Earth and sun.
Scientists led by the papers very first author, Lotfi Ben-Jaffel at the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris, then used 3D computer simulations to design interactions in between the worlds uppermost climatic regions and magnetic field with the incoming solar wind.
” Just like Earths electromagnetic field and its immediate space environment connect with the impinging solar wind, which includes charged particles taking a trip at about 900,000 mph, there are interactions in between HAT-P-11bs electromagnetic field and its immediate area environment with the solar wind from its host star, and those are very intricate,” Ballester described.
The physics in the magnetospheres of Earth and HAT-P-11b are the same; however, the exoplanets close proximity to its star– just one-twentieth of the distance from the Earth to the sun– triggers its upper environment to warm and basically “boil off” into area, leading to the formation of the magnetotail.
Scientists likewise discovered that the metallicity of HAT-P-11bs atmosphere– the variety of chemical elements in an item that are heavier than hydrogen and helium– is lower than anticipated. In our planetary system, the icy gas worlds, Neptune and Uranus, are abundant in metals but have weak electromagnetic fields, while the much bigger gas planets, Jupiter and Saturn, have low metallicity and strong electromagnetic fields. HAT-P-11bs low climatic metallicity challenges current designs of exoplanet formation, the authors state.
” Although HAT-P-11bs mass is just 8% of that of Jupiter, we believe the exoplanet more resembles a mini-Jupiter than a Neptune,” Ballester stated. “The atmospheric composition we see on HAT-P-11b suggests that additional work requires to be done to refine current theories of how particular exoplanets form in general.”
Reference: “Signatures of strong magnetization and a metal-poor environment for a Neptune-sized exoplanet” by Lotfi Ben-Jaffel, Gilda E. Ballester, Antonio García Muñoz, Panayotis Lavvas, David K. Sing, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Ofer Cohen, Tiffany Kataria, Gregory W. Henry, Lars Buchhave, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Hannah R. Wakeford and Mercedes López-Morales, 16 December 2021, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-021-01505-x.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation in between NASA and the European Space Agency. The observations were made through the following programs: Small HST Program # 14625 devoted to HAT-P-11b (primary investigator Gilda E. Ballester) and the HST Treasury Program # 14767 named PanCET: The Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanetary Treasury program (co- principal private investigators David K. Sing and Mercedes López-Morales).
The paper, “Signatures of Strong Magnetization and a Metal-Poor Atmosphere for a Neptune-Size Exoplanet” is published in the December 16 issue of Nature Astronomy. Co-authors in addition to Ballester and Ben-Jaffel are Antonio García Muñoz, Panayotis Lavvas, David K. Sing, Jorge Sanz-Forcada, Ofer Cohen, Tiffany Kataria, Gregory W. Henry, Lars Buchahave, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Hannah R. Wakeford, and Mercedes López-Morales.