Astronomers find first evidence of changing conditions on a super Earth

by Benson Agoha | Cambridge Research

Astronomers detect huge changes in temperatures on a super Earth, and say it be due to high amounts of volcanic activity.

Changing conditions on the super earth observed: Credit:
(Cambridge Research).

The discovery of wildly changing temperatures on a super Earth could add to the mystery surrounding the rocky `diamond planet'.  It is the first time atmospheric variability has been observed outside of our solar system.

And according to Cambridge Research, the change may be serious volcanic activity.

"For the first time, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have detected atmospheric variability on a rocky planet outside the solar system, and observed a nearly threefold change in temperature over a two year period." Cambridge Research said.

But the researchers say the cause of the variability is still under investigation, and they believe the readings could be due to massive amounts of volcanic activity on the surface.

The ability to peek into the atmospheres of rocky ‘super Earths’ and observe conditions on their surfaces marks an important milestone towards identifying habitable planets outside the solar system.

Dr Nikku Madhusudhan of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, said: “This is the first time we’ve seen such drastic changes in light emitted from an exoplanet, which is particularly remarkable for a super Earth,” adding  “No signature of thermal emissions or surface activity has ever been detected for any other super Earth to date.” 

The change in temperature is yet to be be fully explained though but the researchers believe the variability in temperature could be due to huge plumes of gas and dust which occasionally blanket the surface.

“We saw a 300 percent change in the signal coming from this planet, which is the first time we’ve seen such a huge level of variability in an exoplanet,” said Dr Brice-Olivier Demory of the University’s Cavendish Laboratory, lead author of the new study.

“While we can’t be entirely sure, we think a likely explanation for this variability is large-scale surface activity, possibly volcanism, on the surface is spewing out massive volumes of gas and dust, which sometimes blanket the thermal emission from the planet so it is not seen from Earth.” 

The scholars used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, to observe the thermal emissions coming from the planet, called 55 Cancri e, and found temperatures, on the hot ‘day’ side of the planet, swinging between 1000 and 2700 degrees Celsius. 

The planet could still be carbon rich, the researchers said, but insist they are no long so sure because earlier studies of the planet even suggested that it could be a water world. 

To read the full story in Cambridge Research, visit >> (Changing Conditions of a Super Earth).