Darkest exoplanet found to date

Page 1 of 2 [ 17 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

techstepgenr8tion
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Feb 2005
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 24,576
Location: 28th Path of Tzaddi

13 Aug 2011, 12:16 am

I saw this at work and thought it was interesting:
http://www.space.com/12612-alien-planet ... epler.html

_________________
The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.

Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 May 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 60,939
Location:

13 Aug 2011, 12:18 am

1800-degree surface temperature?

Balmy.

Ashuahhe
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 29 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 724

13 Aug 2011, 2:00 am

It's as dark as the midnight sky :O

Reindeer
Deinonychus

Joined: 6 May 2011
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 372

13 Aug 2011, 2:27 pm

Ashuahhe wrote:

It's as dark as the midnight sky :O

Darker

_________________
AS: 132
NT: 36
AQ: 40

SammichEater
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Mar 2011
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,903

13 Aug 2011, 4:27 pm

This is why the space program isn't a waste of money. I want to go there, dangit.

_________________
Remember, all atrocities begin in a sensible place.

Moog
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2010
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,671
Location: Untied Kingdom

13 Aug 2011, 4:30 pm

Cool!

_________________
Not currently a moderator

techstepgenr8tion
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Feb 2005
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 24,576
Location: 28th Path of Tzaddi

13 Aug 2011, 5:03 pm

Reindeer wrote:

Ashuahhe wrote:

It's as dark as the midnight sky :O

Darker

Dark enough to make Sekou Toure blush - if he were alive to see it today.

_________________
The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.

naturalplastic
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Age: 70
Gender: Male
Posts: 35,189
Location: temperate zone

14 Aug 2011, 7:09 am

Ofcourse its dark.

Its scorched from being so close to its sun.

Aspie_SE10
Velociraptor

Joined: 14 Jan 2011
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Posts: 461

14 Aug 2011, 7:48 am

Dumb question, but does the exoplanet rotate on its axis or is it like Mercury, which doesn't?

naturalplastic
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Age: 70
Gender: Male
Posts: 35,189
Location: temperate zone

14 Aug 2011, 11:50 am

Aspie_SE10 wrote:

Dumb question, but does the exoplanet rotate on its axis or is it like Mercury, which doesn't?

The article says that its "beleived to be tidally locked, with the same face always facing the star like the earth's moon always has the same face towards earth".

Aspie_SE10
Velociraptor

Joined: 14 Jan 2011
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Posts: 461

16 Aug 2011, 11:01 am

naturalplastic wrote:

Aspie_SE10 wrote:

Dumb question, but does the exoplanet rotate on its axis or is it like Mercury, which doesn't?

The article says that its "beleived to be tidally locked, with the same face always facing the star like the earth's moon always has the same face towards earth".

Sweet, so toasty and freezing as well.

Jono
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,668
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

16 Aug 2011, 6:56 pm

Interesting, the planet is dark because it hardly reflects any light. It's also pretty hot, so it radiates something akin to black body radiation.

Scandium
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 31 Jul 2011
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 784
Location: Orange County, CA, USA, Earth, Solar System, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Local Cluster

16 Aug 2011, 7:05 pm

So does that mean there are spots on the border between the light and the dark side where the temperature is not too high or low?

ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

16 Aug 2011, 7:59 pm

Scandium wrote:

So does that mean there are spots on the border between the light and the dark side where the temperature is not too high or low?

Yes, That would be at the terminator and it isn't very wide.

ruveyn

SammichEater
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Mar 2011
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,903

16 Aug 2011, 8:15 pm

If it has an atmosphere, that would circulate the heat around.

_________________
Remember, all atrocities begin in a sensible place.

techstepgenr8tion
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Feb 2005
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 24,576
Location: 28th Path of Tzaddi

16 Aug 2011, 8:20 pm

ruveyn wrote:

Scandium wrote:

So does that mean there are spots on the border between the light and the dark side where the temperature is not too high or low?

Yes, That would be at the terminator and it isn't very wide.

ruveyn

I think they took some major artistic license with the painting - ie. if its darker than a midnight sky obviously its not striped black and red-orange but rather, if I'm picturing this right, its that black all over - but not quite 'pitch' black because of a very subtle, really barely pereceptible, red glow from beneath. To me that glow says its perhaps a gas planet with a black atmosphere where, unlike Jupiter with clouds thickening to chemical sleet to slush, to thicker slush, to a molten core - this thing just goes from thick black clouds to molten surface.

For the suggestion that this could be the old core of a red/brown dwarf - for its odd characteristics it wouldn't surprise me too much.

_________________
The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.

Page 1 of 2 [ 17 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Jump to:

Darkest exoplanet found to date Post Reply New Topic

Darkest exoplanet found to date