Astronomers have detected radio waves from an exoplanet and the star it orbits, both located 12 light-years from Earth. This signal suggests that this Earth-sized planet may have a magnetic field and even an atmosphere.
Karl G. Jansky Extremely Large Telescope Complex in New Mexico. Photo: Getty
The Earth’s magnetic field helps protect the atmosphere and living creatures from the direct impact of solar radiation. The discovery of atmospheres surrounding planets beyond the Solar System could show that these worlds have the potential to support life.
Scientists noted strong radio bursts from the star YZ Ceti and its orbiting rocky planet, called YZ Ceti b, during observations using the Karl G. Jansky in New Mexico. Researchers believe that the radio waves are generated by the interaction between the magnetic fields of the planet and its star.
To be able to detect radio waves from Earth they must be very strong, researchers say.
“Whether a planet can maintain an atmosphere depends on whether it has a strong magnetic field or not,” said Sebastian Pineda, study leader and an astrophysicist at the University of Colorado Boulder. good.
Previously, researchers discovered magnetic fields on exoplanets the size of Jupiter – the largest planet in the Solar System. But detecting magnetic fields on smaller planets the size of Earth is difficult because the magnetic fields are nearly invisible.
“What we’re doing is finding ways to observe them. We’re looking for planets that are really close to their stars and that are similar in size to Earth,” said study co-author Jackie Villadsen. He was a professor of physics and astronomy at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.
Illustrative photo: Getty
YZ Ceti b only takes 2 Earth days to complete its rotation around its star. Meanwhile, the shortest year in the Solar System is on Mercury when it takes 88 Earth days to complete its rotation around the Sun.
As YZ Ceti b orbits its star, plasma from the star collides with the planet’s magnetic field. Those powerful interactions create extremely powerful radio waves that we can detect from Earth.
In our Solar System, activities on the Sun can create space weather that impacts Earth. Powerful bursts from the Sun can disrupt satellites and global communications as well as create flashes of light near the Earth’s poles, also known as auroras.
