The Perfect Tidal Storm: HD 104067 Planetary Architecture Creates a Sparkling World

Astrophysicist Stephen Cain of the University of California, Riverside was surprised by the extreme conditions of the newly studied planet. Although he didn’t believe it at first, he ended up reevaluating the data about the fiery world. Kane discovers that the planet is located in a distant star system and is dotted with active volcanoes, making it look like a bright red ball from a distance. “It was one of those eureka moments where you’re like, ‘Wow, this is amazing that this actually exists,'” Kane said. These results are further detailed in a publication in Astronomical Journal. The discovery was made by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which was launched in 2018 to search for exoplanets around bright stars. TESS focused on the star system HD 104067, about 66 light-years away, and discovered a new rocky planet to join the previously known giant planets, bringing the total number of known planets in the system to three. I did. The newly discovered planet, named TOI-6713.01, is a terrestrial world 30% larger than Earth. However, it has more extreme volcanic activity, much like Io, Jupiter’s volcanic moon. “This is a terrestrial planet, which I would call Io on steroids,” Kane explained. “He was constantly forced into situations where there were volcanic eruptions. At wavelengths of light, you would see a planet burning red with molten lava on the surface.” TOI-6713.01’s surface temperature is estimated to be 2,600 Kelvin, hotter than some stars. This intense heating is primarily due to gravitational interactions similar to those affecting Io. Kane explained that the gravity of Jupiter and its other moons compresses Io and determines its volcanic nature. The gravitational pull of its star and neighboring planets also creates extreme conditions on TOI-6713.01. Future research will aim to measure the planet’s mass and density and gain insight into the dynamics of its volcanoes. “This tells us a lot about the extremes of how much energy we can inject into a terrestrial planet and the consequences,” Cain said, adding that tidal energy typically associated with ocean tides emphasized the important role of Planet Earth is connected in these planetary phenomena. sauce:

source: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad3820