A new manakin has shown that some massive exoplanets may be more like Earth than originally intend . It turns out that there is a very undecomposed chance that some “ Super - Earth ” planets have landscapes a lot like ours , complete with oceans and continents . The model was developed by Nicolas B. Cowan from Northwestern ’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics ( CIERA ) and Dorian Abbot from UChicago . Their paper is set to be print in an coming edition of theAstrophysical Journal , though they exhibit their findings this week at the223rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society .
To dispose as a “ Super - Earth ” a planet just needs to be more monumental than Earth and less massive than Uranus , which has about 15 times the Earth ’s mass . There are no other qualifiers for this identification such as chemical substance composition or habitableness . Many Super - Earths are think to be completely covered in mysterious water , but this new model challenges that .
By using canonic principle of geophysical science , in combination with what is cognize about the planet , the pair were able to determine thatquite a snatch of the pee would likely be bind up in the planet ’s mantel , just like on Earth . Because these planet are so massive , the crushing pressure on the seafloor forces water from the ocean down into the mantle . Adding in the factor of crustal plate tectonics , there would be variable sea layer , ca-ca the world of continents a very real possibility . Even if these exoplanets ( which are 15 times our mass at most ) had 80 metre the amount of water supply as Earth , there still would still be enough exposed rock to have Continent .
Why is it a big deal if there are actually Continent on these planet ? Having a mixture of continent and oceans govern weather and influence climate . This increases the odds that such a satellite in its star ’s inhabitable geographical zone could very well have a mood a lot like land ’s , which may increase the opening for finding living similar to our own . Currents in the ocean would mix nutrients around .
Of course , this is just a model and there is no existent grounds as of yet that an exoplanet has these calibre . However , rethink what is possible may take into account us to take newfangled approaching and learn even more about Super - Earths as we search for our erratic twin out in the Universe .
