Questions tagged [exoplanet]
Questions regarding planets that lie outside the Solar System.
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Is this a potential planetary setup for the Alpha Centauri System?
I originally posted this on the World Building SE, but I was suggested to post it here for a better answer.
I am attempting to create a [semi]plausible star system in Alpha Centauri for a series. The ...
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0answers
20 views
Explanation about the resonance, mean motion resonance and libration
I am studying for a project the dynamics of multi-planetary system in resonance. I have two questions about this domain.
In many articles they speak about 'mean motion resonance', what is the ...
7
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1answer
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Why is the TESS spacecraft finding fewer exoplanets than expected?
Judging from the Wikipedia page, I got the impression that TESS is underperforming, being expected to detect about 20000 candidate exoplanets in its primary two-year mission, but with only a few weeks ...
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Stellar age determination - code
I'm trying to determine the age of some stars. I have many parameters that characterize these stars: $T_{eff}$ ,log ${g}$ ,$[Fe/H]$, $V$... I've tried to use the isochrones package but so far no ...
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1answer
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Cannot plot Kepler FITS files with topcat in Windows
This is a continuation of my earlier question here. I was able to find Kepler data. Now I wanted to plot the data using Topcat. But when I tried to plot the data, I received error. Below is the error ...
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2answers
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Which of the planets would be detected if they were exoplanets?
An (almost-)omnipotent being selects the solar system, presses Ctrl+C, and then Ctrl+V several times, creating copies at distances of 5, 500, 50.000, and 5.000.000 light-years away. All in a direction ...
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1answer
55 views
How to find Kepler/TESS data [duplicate]
I have some basic understanding of the Kepler/TESS mission. The missions both look at the stars and try to find the dip in the light from the stars to find possible existence of exoplanets (exomoons ...
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1answer
938 views
How is an exoplanet characterised as “Earth-Like”?
Which features or characteristics are taken into account to characterize an exoplanet as "Earth-Like"?
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1answer
110 views
Could iron rain upset tidally locked WASP76b?
The Jupiter mass planet WASP76b orbits its 1.5*Sunmass star at 0.03AU and is tidally locked. The day side heats to 2400C which vaporizes metals, including iron observed in its atmosphere. The balmy ...
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Could iron rain upset tidally locked WASP76b? [duplicate]
The Jupiter mass planet WASP76b orbits its 1.5*Sunmass star at 0.03AU and is tidally locked. The day side heats to 2400C which vaporizes metals, including iron observed in its atmosphere. The balmy ...
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1answer
109 views
What is a stellar component?
I have a question where I have to calculate the orbital inclination of a planet, so that it isn't a exoplanet but a stellar component. The mass of the star it is orbiting is 1.1 $M_☉$. Does the ...
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1answer
60 views
What is the gaseous-to-rocky ratio of exoplanets?
Around the Sun, there are as many gaseous planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) as there are rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars).
Do other stars have similar gaseous-to-rocky ...
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1answer
120 views
Is there a clear-cut difference between rocky and gaseous planets?
A gas giant planet is large enough that it retains a lot of hydrogen and helium. A rocky planet is one with a solid surface. That's the rule of thumb to distinguish between the rocky and gaseous ...
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2answers
352 views
What planets or exoplanets orbit the Sun’s elder twin HIP 102152?
Has anyone done any research on the planets that orbit the HIP102152? Since that star is similar to ours and older, I postulate that it’s likely those planets are most worthwhile searching for ...
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1answer
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Is it only possible to look at solar systems with stars at least as old as ours to be able to find intelligent life?
Assuming the speed it takes to development intelligent life is the same in all solar systems, would we need to look at exoplanets with stars as old or older than ours to find intelligent life? A young ...
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1answer
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Have any planetary systems been found around Population II stars?
I always understood that Population II stars were unlikely to have planets as they were virtually all H and He with very little else.
Have recent observations confirmed this, or have planets been ...
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1answer
73 views
Code/Package for multiple planet simulation
I want to do a quick study and some tests on the planet-star dynamics ( including the movement of the star). I'm looking for a code that simulates some planets orbiting a star. I've tried searching ...
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Are there any planets or moons denser than Earth?
Earth has the highest density out of all planets, planetoids and moons of our planetary system, and also has a higher density than the Sun. Do we know any exoplanets or moons denser than Earth?
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1answer
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How can a Grade-11 Student avail TESS data and learn to process?
As mentioned, I am a Grade-11 student. I have always been interested in Data Processing activities. This sums up my experience of working on Asteroid hunt Campaign under IASC (International Asteroid ...
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2answers
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Time vs magnification in a binary lens
For a single lens: we got
\begin{equation}
u(t)=\sqrt{\left(\frac{t-t_0}{t_E}\right)^2 + u_0^2},\end{equation}
so the magnification is
\begin{equation}
A = \frac{u^2+2}{u\sqrt{u^2+4}} \end{...
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1answer
106 views
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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2answers
131 views
Consequences of strong wind on an alien Planet on the possibility of life
I was surprised to learn recently that Neptune has winds of 1500 miles an hour.
My question is whether life could ever evolve on such a Planet that has such powerful winds? Not necessarily on ...
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1answer
107 views
Why pulsar pulses are so extremely regular?
It's often said that the pulses of the pulsar have a very precise period, which helps to detect easily exoplanets that cause fluctuations in the time of arrival (TOA) of the pulses. Anybody knows why?
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2answers
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Could the mineral composition of planets explain the absence of megastructures?
The Fermi paradox concerns why we don't observe evidence of alien life, such as megastructures. If we were to build a Dyson swarm, the best source material may be Mercury (Armstrong and Sandberg 2013):...
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1answer
71 views
Derivation of the orbital parameters of a exoplanet discovered by direct imaging
I wonder which orbital elements of a exoplanet can be found only applying direct imaging. I know that the angular separation combined with parallax can give us the semi-major axis, but what about the ...
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1answer
72 views
Could a gas giant orbit a star with a 30 year period at a distance of just 1 AU?
Assuming a star with similar properties to our sun, could a gas giant orbit it with an orbital period similar to that of Saturn, but, at a much closer orbital distance, more similar to 1 AU?
4
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1answer
75 views
What is this gap between hot and cold Jupiters?
When plotting mass to semi major axis on exoplanets.org, there seems to be a gap between Hot Jupiters and Cold Jupiters. A lot of Jupiter-mass planets at less than 0.1 AU have been discovered, and a ...
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2answers
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Is Jupiter still an anomaly?
I remember a few years ago hearing that Jupiter was an anomaly in the landscape of exoplanets. Back then, most Jupiter-mass planets discovered were Hot Jupiters, orbiting very close to their host star....
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2answers
121 views
How many exoplanets have been found around binary stars?
This XKCD whatif talks about circumbinary and [the other kind of] exoplanets. How many such exoplanets have actually been discovered?
I tried to look it up at exoplanets.org, but didn't find a column ...
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0answers
40 views
Is it possible to build a ground-based telescope that can directly image Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of sunlike stars?
In the following discussion I will refer to Earth-like exoplanets planets orbiting in the habitable zone of sunlike stars simply as “Earth-like exoplanets."
NASA is currently developing or ...
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1answer
71 views
What is the least dense exoplanet?
An exoplanet with density 0.31 grams per cubic centimeter has been found. Is this the least dense exoplanet we know of?
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1k views
Troop of moving stars through a straight line [duplicate]
Last night,I and my brother suddenly saw that some(50-60) dots of light( exactly like stars) were moving through a straight line(from NW to SE) above us with same velocity and towards exactly same ...
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Why does the transit method work so well for planet hunting? [duplicate]
This may seem like a duplicate of A few questions regarding the transit of planets and Orbital plane evolution and planet discovery via transit method, but...
How is it that we've been able to ...
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Can primordial black holes be found orbiting other stars?
A recent study suggests a that a primordial black hole may be orbiting the sun at and that they can be common near other star systems.
What measurements and equipment can perhaps find BH's near ...
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1answer
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Are warm circumstellar debris disks still able to be detected at sub-millimeter wavelengths?
At these wavelengths a survey is more sensitive to detecting relatively cool disks (T<100k), but would a telescope operating in the sub-millimeter be less sensitive to warm debris disk than say, a ...
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1answer
117 views
Given that Kepler's Third Law as stated on most websites doesn't include mass, how does it work for planets in other star systems? [duplicate]
Kepler's Third Law as stated on websites I found while searching for "how to convert between a planet's orbital period and semi major axis" is $P^2 = A^3$ where P is the orbital period in years and A ...
3
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1answer
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Exoplanets, Protoplanets, and planetesimals
So, most of the mass of the solar system (that isn't inside the sun) is inside Jupiter. And most of whats left after THAT is inside Saturn. So, all the rocky planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar ...
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2answers
142 views
Can we calculate the orbit of exoplanets?
I'm not an astronomer, but the question came up and I'm interested if we are able (or how accurate we are able) to calculate the orbital parameters of an exoplanet. Since the transit method must yield ...
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3answers
240 views
Can we see evidence of sunspots on other stars
Searching for exoplanets by measuring the change of a stars brightness when an exoplanet transits the star's disk also has the potential to detect exo-sunspots. Have they ever been detected?
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1answer
116 views
Would two Earth-like planets on opposite sides of a Sol-like star at about 1 AU be a stable configuration?
Would two Earth-like planets on opposite sides of a Sol-like star at about 1 AU be a relatively stable configuration? I understand that there are tadpole-like orbits and the two planets may not stay ...
2
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1answer
86 views
By convention, when observing an exoplanet, is the observer's line of sight (on Earth) perpendicular to the plane of sky?
This is just a quick question. In this picture of the orbit of an exoplanet, is the observer's line of sight perpendicular to the plane of reference, which is in the +z direction on the diagram? In ...
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0answers
37 views
Would the WISE Survey pick up a large planetary collisions like Theia-Earth? And from how far?
WISE or Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer
Large body collisions are obviously, very very rare, locally speaking, and with stars, often spiraling inwards not direct collisions. I know that stellar ...
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1answer
100 views
Are gas giants actually rare?
Kepler data suggests that the vast majority of planets are smaller than 4 Earth radii, with larger planets quickly becoming vanishingly scarce. Yet somehow, our own solar system harbours not just one, ...
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1answer
113 views
Are the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system so close that inhabitants on one planet could see surface details on the other planets?
In a discussion below the Space Exploration question Are there any to-scale diagrams of the TRAPPIST-1 system I was invited to ask a question like this, so I have.
Question: Are the planets in the ...
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1answer
95 views
What is the relative velocity between planets in different solar systems?
Is it possible to estimate what the difference in velocity is between the earth and another convenient exoplanet? Or perhaps just our star and a near neighbour?
I'd be curious where I could find the ...
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1answer
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Why would a tidally-locked rocky planet have a first-order spherical harmonic surface temperature distribution?
The new Letter to Nature Absence of a thick atmosphere on the terrestrial exoplanet LHS 3844b (also ArXiv) analyzes the thermal infrared light curve from the system (about 4.5 to 5.5 um). The planet ...
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1answer
203 views
View of other planets from the Earth
There appears to be varying positions/spots of view of other planets from Earth, if I'm not wrong. Now, given that all planets are on the same plane, why do their positions change on the night sky for ...
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2answers
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Why are there no photos of exoplanets?
There are a lot of photos of diffrent astronomial objects such as galaxies, nebulae and stars of which some are very far away.
However there are no real photos of exoplanets (by “real photos” I mean ...
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1answer
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Any plans for TESS after it finishes northern sky survey?
TESS has provided the astronomy community with a treasure trove of information.
Once TESS completes its one year survey of the northern sky, are there any plans for an extended mission?
Just seems ...
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1answer
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How would water-ammonia oceans behave?
Scientists strongly suspect that several moons in our solar system have frozen-over oceans of water-ammonia mixture. I've also read speculations on the possibility of surface water-ammonia oceans on ...
