Questions tagged [chthonian]
Questions regarding chthonians, a hypothesised class of exoplanets that are the remnant cores of hot Jupiters.
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Could Mercury be a some kind of Chthonian?
A recent news article mentioned that Mercury has an unusually large core - meaning it is denser than the other rocky planets in the solar system.
It made me wonder if Mercury could have started as an ...
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Would exoplanets like those of Kepler-70 possess magnetic fields?
The B-type subdwarf, Kepler-70 (aka KIC 5807616) is believed to have two planets orbiting it, at average distances 0.006 AU and 0.0076 AU (source). Due to their proximity to their parent star, they ...
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What keeps Chthonian planets so dense?
The cores of gas giants are kept under incredible pressure by the weight of the gasses of the giant. In a chthonian planet, said gases are stripped away, revealing the core of the gas giant, which ...
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What is the current accepted theory for the fate of hot Jupiters?
It is well established that one main feature of many hot jupiters is their close proximity to their parent star, usually the equivalent of being within the orbit of Mercury. So, these planets are gas ...