Artist impression revealing the exoplanet LP 890-9cs potential evolution from a hot Earth to a desiccated Venus. They said liquid water or an environment abundant in water vapor was possible on LP 890-9c, which is about 40% bigger than Earth and circles the small, cool star in 8.5 days.
” This world is the very first target where we can evaluate these different circumstances,” Kaltenegger stated. “If its still a hotter Earth– hot, but with liquid water and conditions for life– then the timeline is slower than we believed. If we see that its currently a full-blown Venus, then the water gets lost quick.”
” Looking at this planet will inform us whats happening on this inner edge of the habitable zone– the length of time a rocky world can maintain habitability when it starts to get hot,” Kaltenegger said. “It will teach us something essential about how rocky worlds progress with increasing starlight, and about what will one day take place to us and Earth.”
Kaltenegger is the lead author of “Hot Earth or Young Venus? A Nearby Transiting Rocky Planet Mystery,” released in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
LP 890-9c is one of 2 super-Earths orbiting a red dwarf star situated 100 light years from Earth, researchers revealed in 2015. (NASAs Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite had actually previously recognized LP 890-9b.) They stated liquid water or an environment abundant in water vapor was possible on LP 890-9c, which is about 40% larger than Earth and circles the little, cool star in 8.5 days.
Those requirements recommended it to be one of the finest targets for JWST to study amongst the understood, possibly habitable terrestrial planets, in addition to the TRAPPIST-1 system.
The teams designs are the first to detail distinctions in the chemical signatures created by rocky planets near the habitable zones interior boundary, based on variables consisting of the worlds size, mass, chemical makeup, surface area temperature and pressure, atmospheric height, and cloud cover. If there is one, the calculations were essential to estimating how much time JWST would need to validate the basic structure of an environment–.
The designs span a number of scenarios believed to reflect stages of rocky planets evolution, ranging from a “hot Earth” where life may still be possible, to a desolate Venus including a co2 environment. In in between are phases Earth is expected to experience as the sun grows brighter and hotter with age, causing the oceans to slowly fill the atmosphere and vaporize with steam before boiling off completely.
The length of time those procedures might take is unknown, and the astronomers say LP 890-9c provides an uncommon opportunity to explore that advancement.
” This planet is the first target where we can check these different situations,” Kaltenegger said. “If its still a hotter Earth– hot, however with liquid water and conditions for life– then the timeline is slower than we believed. If we see that its already a full-blown Venus, then the water gets lost fast.”
Its possible that LP 890-9c has no atmosphere and hosts no life, or that it looks like a Venus with thick clouds that would block light from showing and thus yield little info. Deeper examination promises to offer important hints, Kaltenegger said.
” We do not understand what this planet on the edge of habitability might be like, so we need to look,” she stated. “This is what genuine expedition has to do with.”
Reference: “Hot Earth or Young Venus? A close-by transiting rocky world secret” by L Kaltenegger, R C Payne, Z Lin, J Kasting and L Delrez, 21 June 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.DOI: 10.1093/ mnrasl/slad064.
Artist impression showing the exoplanet LP 890-9cs prospective advancement from a hot Earth to a desiccated Venus. Credit: Carl Sagan Institute/R. Payne
How close can a rocky planet be to a star, and still sustain water and life? A recently discovered exoplanet might be key to fixing that mystery.
” Super-Earth” LP 890-9c, also described as SPECULOOS-2c, is providing important details worrying the conditions at the inner boundary of a stars habitable zone and discussing the contrasting advancement of Earth and Venus. The research was led by Lisa Kaltenegger, an associate teacher of astronomy at Cornell University.
Her team found LP 890-9c, which orbits near to the inner edge of its solar systems habitable zone, would look significantly various depending on whether it still had warm oceans, a steam atmosphere, or if it had lost its water– assuming it when had oceans like Earths.
