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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."
We get solid precipitation here on earth all the time.
Sometimes it's hail, sometimes sleet.
The best is frogs, though.
"the temperature on its sun-facing side is around 4220 degrees Fahrenheit." For anyone using the SI, this is about 2327 degrees Celsius
True. Also, I'm wondering if "pebbles" is an appropriate description of the condensed rock or if it wouldn't be more aptly described as "sand" or even "dust". Raindrops stick together; depending on how quickly the rock condenses, it might not have time to grow very large. (Then again, it could grow like hail, if the rock was in the liquid state for any significant amount of time.)
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
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
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.
Yeah, I'm part Irish too. I can't stand being in the Sun/insert favorite star here.
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
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
bite it noobs
forgot to check the AC box? noob!
ow!
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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.