The darkish aspect of lava planets | Waterloo Information

Lava planets could sound like science fiction, however they’re very actual for astrophysics professor Dr. Lisa Dang, who’s finding out them as a bigger staff of worldwide researchers seeking to additional discover their internal workings.  

A lava planet is a sort of rocky exoplanet that orbits extraordinarily near its host star. These planets are tidally locked, implying the identical aspect is at all times dealing with the star. This so-called dayaspect is sizzling sufficient to harbour an ocean of molten rock, whereas the opposite aspect is completely darkish.  

Artistic illustration of the inner construction of a lava planet in a chilly state, exhibiting a day‑aspect magma ocean overlain by a mineral ambiance. The arrows point out the path of warmth transport inside the planet’s inside and the thermal radiation emitted from its night time aspect. Credit: Romain Jean-Jacques – https://www.romainjeanjacques.com – @romainjean.jacques

In a recent paper led by Dr. Charles-Édouard Boukaré from York University, Dang and colleagues from academic establishments around the globe recommend that lava planets type absolutely molten with a deep magma ocean overlaying all the planet and, over time, the planet’s darkish aspect cools down and solidifies. 

To take a look at these predictions, the group of researchers led by Dang requested observation time on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an area telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy at nice distances, for 5 lava planets. Observation time on the JWST is in excessive demand, however the group’s request was authorised, and they’re going to obtain content material over the subsequent yr. 

“When you take a photo of anything, you get a snapshot of what it looks like at that moment in time, but each snapshot tells a story, and I look forward to the stories the data from the JWST will help us tell about lava planets,” Dang says.  

For every of the 5 lava planets, the JWST will present knowledge all through every planet’s yearly cycle, which is solely a couple of Earth hours. This will allow researchers to view either side of the planet over one full rotation and make warmth maps, which can give them an concept of the internal workings of the planet.  

“We will monitor each planet for a full orbit to capture a full rotation,” Dang says. “We hope to learn more about their dark side to further understand the interior evolution of these exoplanets.” 

Dang and her staff at Waterloo will take the lead on analyzing the knowledge units once they begin rolling in from the JWST in 2026. The 5 planets they’re observing are of various ages, to allow them to be taught what these exoplanets appear like at totally different levels of life. As every knowledge set is available in, they are going to pull it aside, problem their predictions, and provide you with new ones.  

They wish to know the way the planet’s warmth finances and composition change over the lifespan of the planet and whether or not the magma oceans ever shrink or solidify as they age. They will additionally be searching for what molecules are current, what’s totally different between the planets, and what’s lacking that they hadn’t anticipated. 

This knowledge would be the most in-depth Dang has ever labored on with regards to lava planets, and she or he is eagerly anticipating its arrival and what it might imply for her analysis.