- 3976 - FAST RADIO BURSTS - what can they tell us? Recent observations from the “Very Large Array” (VLA) radio telescopes in New Mexico revealed evidence of a magnetic field on the rocky exoplanet “YZ Ceti b”, which orbits a star about 12 light-years away from Earth.
------------ 3976 - FAST RADIO BURSTS - what can they tell us?
- On Earth,
we often take our planet’s magnetic field for granted. It protects living
creatures from the sun’s rays, draws compass needles north and even creates
beautiful auroras.
-
- Other worlds
in our solar system have magnetic fields too, but what about Earth-like planets
around other stars?
-
- This is the
first possible detection of a magnetic field on a planet beyond our solar
system. This research shows not only
that this particular rocky exoplanet likely has a magnetic field but provides a
promising method to find more.
-
- Magnetic
fields are particularly interesting to astronomers because they’re an important
part of making a planet habitable. Without a magnetic field, energetic
particles from a star can erode a planet’s atmosphere, stripping away the
blanket of gas that can support life.
-
- The search
for potentially habitable or life-bearing worlds in other solar systems depends
in part on being able to determine if rocky, Earth-like exoplanets actually
have magnetic fields.
-
- “YZ Ceti b”
is not a habitable planet. To detect the radio waves from a small, far-away
exoplanet’s magnetic field, astronomers had to look towards a particularly
extreme example. YZ Ceti b is quite close to its star, far too close to be a
pleasant temperature for life, and orbiting at such a pace that one of its years is only two Earth days
long.
-
- This is so
close in that the planet “plows” through material sloughing off of the star.
The planet’s magnetic field pushes electrically charged plasma back toward the
star, which then interacts with the star’s own magnetic field, emitting bright
flashes of energy. These were an aurora on the star, likely created by the
interactions with the planet.
-
- There
should also be an aurora on the planet if it has its own atmosphere. They arn’t
100% certain whether the stellar aurora is entirely caused by YZ Ceti b,
though. Further observations are needed to confirm this is actually due to a
rocky planet’s magnetic field, and not just a feature of the star itself.
-
April 29, 2023 3976
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Comments
appreciated and Pass it on to whomever is interested. ---
--- Some
reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
-- email
feedback, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews
--- to: ------
jamesdetrick@comcast.net
------ “Jim Detrick” -----------
--------------------- --- Saturday, April 29,
2023 ---------------------------
-
No comments:
Post a Comment