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Exoplanet Has Showers of Pebbles
mmmscience writes "The newly-discovered exoplanet COROT-7b has an unusual form of precipitation: rocks. Because it orbits so close to its sun, the temperature on its sun-facing side is around 4220 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot enough for rocks to vaporize — not unlike water evaporating on Earth. And, like Earth, when the vapor cools in the upper atmosphere, it forms clouds and begins to rain. But instead of water, COROT-7b gets a shower of pebbles."
That's pretty cool, in a geeky sort of way.
I wish I could see it... but I don't think the environment would be terribly friendly to my sensitive skin.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
We get solid precipitation here on earth all the time.
Sometimes it's hail, sometimes sleet.
The best is frogs, though.
This is a hypothesized event. The evidence for it is slim based primarily on modeling. While this is really cool if correct, one needs to understand that this isn't by any means a slam dunk.
This is just like on the Flintstones, where everything is made out of stone -- because it's the Stone Age, silly! Further research will reveal the pterodactyl airplanes, I'm sure.
"the temperature on its sun-facing side is around 4220 degrees Fahrenheit." For anyone using the SI, this is about 2327 degrees Celsius
Given that different material will have different melting temperatures, that should lead to the different metals coalescing at different heights. At sunset, there ought to be a layering affect as the last rocks fall back to the surface, a rock rainbow in effect. Of course, it probably won't last long with the whole planet being molten.
Be relentless!
Teacher: Why are you late?
Student 1: I was throwing pebbles in the pond.
Teacher: (to student #2) Why are you late?
Student 2: I was throwing pebbles in the pond.
Teacher: (to student #3) Let me guess - you were throwing pebbles in the pond too?
Student 3: I'm Pebbles.
It is nearly impossible to imagine a deluge of pebbles falling from the sky, or turning on the morning forecast to hear reports of "rocking" instead of "raining."
Oh I can imagine it. You see dark clouds roll in, crowding around. In the distance but growing louder, the rapid heavy percussion of the rock shower begins. Then in the cloud at the front, you see a flash of light and a shower of sparks like a pyrotechnic burst. Seconds later, instead of a crash of thunder, you hear the wail of an electric guitar.
It is now rocking. Rocking hard core.
This is the awesomest planet ever.
The enemies of Democracy are
No, they wouldn't be able to stand the constant rock music drumming on the roof.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Having read TFA, I am interested why the authors hypothesise that the precipitation is as solid rocks. Intuitively, it would make more sense that it would be in a liquid phase (while I have no idea of what pressures would exist on the planet, and am no geologist, liquid rocks seem to exist across temperature ranges in excess of 100's of degrees here on earth.) Admittedly, the article does seems to imply that there is no rotation of the planet, and thus gaseous rock migrating to the super-cold side might (possibly) precipitate rapidly. In fact, would this imply that there is a large scale migration of rock from the sunward side of the planet to that opposed to the sun (and would this in turn alter the fundamental planet shape? I envisage dinnerplate planets...)
ROCKS FALL! EVERYONE DIES!
That has happened on Earth too. We call it Fallout.
I am not kidding. A surface nuclear burst in the megaton range will vaporize millions of tons of rock and soil. This material will cool, condense, and and fall as
little pebbles or hail. In this case, it's radioactive, but otherwise the physics is the same.
The sky is falling?
More like the ground is falling...from the sky.
With the first link, the chain is forged.
Meanwhile on COROT-7b scientists find a new planet so cold that water would actually create "oceans" on the surface , and even freeze at the poles.
They laugh at the though ever existing on that planet.
Cruise TT
My first reaction was that this (assuming the theory is correct) is about as cool of a discovery - concept I've read about in a long time. At the same time it brings to point a thought that one of the problems with popular Sci-Fi is that it misses on potential of "stuff" "out-there" (space) being wilder and different (including life) than we've yet to imagine.
If you consider the variety of habitats that we find life in our tiny part of the cosmos (Earth) and that life keeps being discovered in more and bizarre places (by human standards) when you extrapolate that out, I tend to think it may be literally beyond our imagination.
If we, by whatever means, met intelligent life, would we be able to communicate; sure math is universal, but consider the issues communicating ideas and values across cultures when its the same species. Consider a collective consciousness, what does the term "I" or "me" mean to it (them).
It is nearly impossible to imagine a deluge of pebbles falling from the sky, or turning on the morning forecast to hear reports of âoerockingâ instead of âoeraining.â
Does this seem difficult to imagine, let alone nearly impossible?
Imagine, if you can, something somewhere else very similar to something standard here!
0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
I'm sure the methane based party animals on Titan also point to Earth and oooh and aaah about how solid H2O actually melts, vaporizes, and falls from the sky as rain, hail, and snow under the tremendous heat we have here.
So it's like Australia?
Some hyperbole here.
The Castle Bravo test shot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo) was one of the largest thermonuclear detonations ever, with an estimated yield of 15-22 MT. The blast crater from Bravo was 2000m in diameter and 75m deep. Assuming it was square because I'm too lazy for math today, that's about 300,000 cubic meters. Assuming that this was blasted in solid granite (http://www.allmeasures.com/Formulae/static/materials/32/density.htm) you get about 780k metric tons.
However, most of this material wasn't vaporized, it was pulverized by the shock wave and propelled as a solid into the mushroom cloud. The actual quantity of material melted I wouldn't hazard to estimate, but it was a small proportion of the overall material excavated.
Much as in the "it's raining rocks!" planet, this precipitation would be much closer in form to dust, not "pebbles". One of the reason that water on earth comes in larger forms is that the water molecule has a charge, and will aggregate electrostatically. I don't think that would be true of this silicate cloud.
bite it noobs
forgot to check the AC box? noob!
ow!
Best Slashdot Co
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930165038.htm
...and if you like pina coladas and getting bludgeoned in the rain...
What I find interesting about this planet is that it's tidally locked with it's star, so one side is over 4000F, while the other is -370F. That could imply that the surface continuously evaporates on the hot side and condenses out of the atmosphere on the cold side. So the planet is essentially a conveyor belt always in the process of being destroyed and created. The contents of the entire planet could have gone through this process many times already.
In this case, yes. The planet would be tidal locked, due to its proximity to the sun. Less volatile components would be the first to boil off into a gaseous state. There would be a "wind" that carries the gaseous components around to the shadowed side of the planet, where it would cool and fall. Repeat for a few million years, and you'd have a nice stratisfication based on volatililty (or lack thereof).
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
I come here for the love
Since Kelvin is indicated just by the K, no degree sign, there should be no need to post the degree sign. "Degrees Kelvin" is a misunderstanding of the system of units.
Not a sentence!
To this, let me just add, that low UID trolls are still trolls.
No we aren't. We're "offtopic" which never comes up for metamod, and thus shields the moderator from the presumed risk of modding us down, but does not effect our massive karma. But we don't get treated that way because we're better than you, it's simply because you aren't as good as us.
But I wasn't even trying to "troll," this time. I was trying to make a "joke." "Sorry" to have "offended" you. I just think overuse of "quotation marks" is "hilarious."
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton