. 24/7 Space News .
EXO WORLDS
Rocky planet neighbor looks familiar, but is not Earth's twin
by Staff Writers
Pasadena, CA (SPX) Jul 11, 2018

File illustration of Ross 128

Last autumn, the world was excited by the discovery of an exoplanet called Ross 128 b, which is just 11 light years away from Earth. New work from a team led by Diogo Souto of Brazil's Observatorio Nacional and including Carnegie's Johanna Teske has for the first time determined detailed chemical abundances of the planet's host star, Ross 128.

Understanding which elements are present in a star in what abundances can help researchers estimate the makeup of the exoplanets that orbit them, which can help predict how similar the planets are to the Earth.

"Until recently, it was difficult to obtain detailed chemical abundances for this kind of star," said lead author Souto, who developed a technique to make these measurements last year.

Like the exoplanet's host star Ross 128, about 70 percent of all stars in the Milky Way are red dwarfs, which are much cooler and smaller than our Sun. Based on the results from large planet-search surveys, astronomers estimate that many of these red dwarf stars host at least one exoplanet.

Several planetary systems around red dwarfs have been newsmakers in recent years, including Proxima b, a planet which orbits the nearest star to our own Sun, Proxima Centauri, and the seven planets of TRAPPIST-1, which itself is not much larger in size than our Solar System's Jupiter.

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's APOGEE spectroscopic instrument, the team measured the star's near-infrared light to derive abundances of carbon, oxygen, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, calcium, titanium, and iron.

"The ability of APOGEE to measure near-infrared light, where Ross 128 is brightest, was key for this study," Teske said. "It allowed us to address some fundamental questions about Ross 128 b's `Earth-like-ness'," Teske said.

When stars are young, they are surrounded by a disk of rotating gas and dust from which rocky planets accrete. The star's chemistry can influence the contents of the disk, as well as the resulting planet's mineralogy and interior structure. For example, the amount of magnesium, iron, and silicon in a planet will control the mass ratio of its internal core and mantle layers.

The team determined that Ross 128 has iron levels similar to our Sun. Although they were not able to measure its abundance of silicon, the ratio of iron to magnesium in the star indicates that the core of its planet, Ross 128 b, should be larger than Earth's.

Because they knew Ross 128 b's minimum mass, and stellar abundances, the team was also able to estimate a range for the planet's radius, which is not possible to measure directly due to the way the planet's orbit is oriented around the star.

Knowing a planet's mass and radius is important to understanding what it's made of, because these two measurements can be used to calculate its bulk density. What's more, when quantifying planets in this way, astronomers have realized that planets with radii greater than about 1.7 times Earth's are likely surrounded by a gassy envelope, like Neptune, and those with smaller radii are likely to be more-rocky, as is our own home planet.

The estimated radius of Ross 128 b indicates that it should be rocky.

Lastly, by measuring the temperature of Ross 128 and estimating the radius of the planet the team was able to determine how much of the host star's light should be reflecting off the surface of Ross 128 b, revealing that our second-closest rocky neighbor likely has a temperate climate.

"It's exciting what we can learn about another planet by determining what the light from its host star tells us about the system's chemistry," Souto said. "Although Ross 128 b is not Earth's twin, and there is still much we don't know about its potential geologic activity, we were able to strengthen the argument that it's a temperate planet that could potentially have liquid water on its surface."

Research paper


Related Links
Carnegie Institution for Science
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


EXO WORLDS
NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Pauses Science Observations to Download Science Data
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jul 10, 2018
Earlier this week, NASA's Kepler team received an indication that the spacecraft fuel tank is running very low. NASA has placed the spacecraft in a hibernation-like state in preparation to download the science data collected in its latest observation campaign. Once the data has been downloaded, the expectation is to start observations for the next campaign with any remaining fuel. Since May 12, Kepler has been on its 18th observation campaign, staring at a patch of sky towards the constellation of ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EXO WORLDS
Orion Jettison Motor Ready for Crew Escape System Test

Testing Refines Requirements for Deep Space Habitat Design

Making oxygen from water may pave way for long-distance space travel

NASA and Peanuts Worldwide to Collaborate on Deep Space Learning Activities

EXO WORLDS
Experimental Spaceplane Program Successfully Completes Engine Test Series

Aurora Launch Services established in Alaska To provide responsive launch services

Largest-ever solid rocket motor poised for first hot firing

Chinese Space Company Planning Launch of Largest Privately Owned Liquid Rocket

EXO WORLDS
Scientists Discover "Ghost Dunes" On Mars

UK space sector set to benefit from new European Space Agency contract

Airbus wins two ESA studies for Mars Sample Return mission

NASA listens out for Opportunity everyday

EXO WORLDS
China readying for space station era: Yang Liwei

China launches new space science program

China Rising as Major Space Power

China launches new-tech experiment twin satellites

EXO WORLDS
EIB and ESA to cooperate on increasing investments in the European Space Sector

China Mulls Creation of Joint Global Satellite System with Russia

Laser-Based System is Set to Expand Space-to-Ground Communication

Yes we've got a space agency - but our industry needs 'Space Prize Australia'

EXO WORLDS
Astronomer Reveals When Soviet-Era Interplanetary Station Will Crash to Earth

Giant Satellite Fuel Tank Sets New Record for 3-D Printed Space Parts

New insights bolster Einstein's idea about how heat moves through solids

Spectral cloaking could make objects invisible under realistic conditions

EXO WORLDS
NASA's Webb Space Telescope to Inspect Atmospheres of Gas Giant Exoplanets

TESS Spacecraft Continues Testing Prior to First Observations

NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Pauses Science Observations to Download Science Data

Rocky planet neighbor looks familiar, but is not Earth's twin

EXO WORLDS
First Global Maps of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons Published

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Jupiter's moons create uniquely patterned aurora on the gas giant planet

'Cataclysmic' collision shaped Uranus' evolution









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.