lava world Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Astrobiology

Numerical simulations of lava planets interior dynamics with no rotation. The dimensionless temperature scale is the maximum super-adiabatic temperature contrast: temperature is 1 at the base of the magma ocean, 0 at the surface on the night-side and 1 at the surface on the day-side. Panel (a) shows equatorial cross-sections from a turbulent model in spherical geometry with no phase change: the upper half is a snapshot and the lower half is a time average over 12 turbulent turnover times with superposed streamlines. Panel (b) shows temperature and panel (c) melt fraction from the 2D Cartesian model that accounts for solid–liquid phase change. See also Supplementary Video 1. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

The Role Of Interior Dynamics and Differentiation on the Surface and Atmosphere of Lava Planets

by Keith CowingMay 30, 2025May 28, 2025

Lava planets are rocky exoplanets that orbit so close to their host star that their day-side is hot enough to melt silicate rock. Their short orbital periods ensure that lava […]

This schematic depicts the set-up of the volatile exchange during initialization (t=0) and run time. For initialization, a surface temperature of 4000 K and a completely molten magma ocean is assumed, where the dissolved volatiles are in balance with the outgassed volatile content, set by the volatile melt fraction Fi . As the magma ocean solidifies, part of the volatile budget is deposited in the solid mantle. Further, atmospheric escape can remove H2O. These two sink terms thus reduce the amount of a volatile available in the fully coupled magma ocean-atmosphere system Mmoa i . The full overview of all included processes, including radiogenic heating, is shown in Barth et al. (2021, Fig. 1) -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

From CO2- to H2O-dominated Atmospheres And Back — How Mixed Outgassing Changes The Volatile Distribution In Magma Oceans Around M Dwarf Stars [TRAPPIST-1]

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2025May 24, 2025

We investigate the impact of CO2 on TRAPPIST-1 e, f and g during the magma ocean stage. These potentially habitable rocky planets are currently the most accessible for astronomical observations.

Illustration of the two different degassing scenarios used in this work, which bracket the potential pathways of mantle melting and crystallization of planetary evolution. The range of orange colours corresponds to temperatures as defined on the bottom abscissa. The figures contain T-P profiles that are shown in black, with a surface temperature as defined by their lowermost endpoint; the corresponding black-body radiation curves are presented by striped lines in shades of orange and their radiance intensity and wavelength range are defined on the upper abscissa and right ordinate (in orange text). The black arrows denote the interaction between the atmosphere and the planetary mantle when determining the equilibrium composition of the atmosphere, as described in the Methods section. (A) The quenched scenario is representative of a case where the primordial magma ocean equilibrates last with the atmosphere above the liquidus, i.e., when the entire mantle is molten. In this case, the chemical systems of the mantle and atmosphere are assumed to be ’closed’ and no further in- or outgassing is taking place at lower surface temperatures. (B) The open scenario represents the opposite end-member assumption: (partially) molten mantle and atmosphere are allowed to equilibrate at all surface temperatures, i.e., in- and outgassing is taking place over the whole temperature range, and the mantle is assumed to be an open system towards the atmosphere. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release

Absence Of A Runaway Greenhouse Limit On Lava Planets

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2025May 20, 2025

Climate transitions on exoplanets offer valuable insights into the atmospheric processes governing planetary habitability.

Sub-Neptune With A Magma Ocean -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Atmospheric C/O Ratios Of Sub-Neptunes With Magma Oceans: Homemade Rather Than Inherited

by Keith CowingApril 30, 2025

Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope has enabled detailed spectroscopic characterization of sub-Neptune atmospheres.

Magma Ocean on Early Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Scattering Blanketing Effect Of Earth’s Proto-atmosphere: Enhanced Suppression Of Planetary Radiation And Magma Ocean Cooling

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2025

The thermal evolution of magma oceans formed by giant impacts is strongly influenced by a proto-atmosphere through its blanketing effect, which suppresses outgoing planetary radiation.

The black spectrum represents the best-fitting total emission spectrum of 55 Cancri e from our results.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

Characterising the Atmosphere of 55 Cancri e: 1D Forward Model Grid for Current and Future JWST Observations

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2025

Recent JWST observations with NIRCam and MIRI of the ultra-short-period super-Earth 55 Cancri e indicate a possible volatile atmosphere surrounding the planet. Previous analysis of the NIRCam spectra suggested potential […]

A massive hotspot — larger the Earth’s Lake Superior — can be seen just to the right of Io’s south pole in this annotated image taken by the JIRAM infrared imager aboard NASA’s Juno on Dec. 27, 2024, during the spacecraft’s flyby of the Jovian moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release

Juno Spots The Most Powerful Volcanic Activity On Io To Date

by Keith CowingJanuary 29, 2025January 29, 2025

Even by the standards of Io, the most volcanic celestial body in the solar system, recent events observed on the Jovian moon are extreme.

The north polar region of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io was captured by NASA’s Juno during the spacecraft’s 57th close pass of the gas giant on Dec. 30, 2023. Data from recent flybys is helping scientists understand Io’s interior. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Gerald Eichstädt

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

How Io Became The Most Volcanic Body In Our Solar System

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2024

Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have discovered that the volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io are each likely powered by their own chamber of roiling hot magma rather than […]

A schematic illustrating the different planetary models under study. In both models, (A) and (B), the planet has a molten core that contributes negligibly to the tidally dissipated energy (this also stands if the core is differentiated into a solid inner and fluid outer parts). On top of the core lies a viscoelastic solid mantle which can be stratified and further divided into layers of uniform physical properties. Tidal dissipation in this mantle is computed in the solid tidal formalism using ALMA3 (Section 2.1). The solid mantle is enveloped by a fluid magma ocean of unperturbed uniform thickness H, which is the focus of our study. Under tidal forcing of the ocean and the mantle, the ocean’s bottom (top) is displaced vertically by ζ ↓ (ζ ↑ ). This forcing also leads to heating (by virtue of several dissipative mechanisms in reality, but mainly due to friction at the ocean-solid mantle interface, as shown in the sketch). The heating is counteracted by convective cooling. This molten layer can either be the outermost layer of the planet (A), or it can live under a solidified crust (B). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Venus

Tides on Lava Worlds: Application to Close-in Exoplanets and the Early Earth-Moon System

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2024December 11, 2024

Understanding the physics of planetary magma oceans has been the subject of growing efforts, in light of the increasing abundance of Solar system samples and extrasolar surveys. A rocky planet […]

Chemical Evolution Of An Evaporating Lava

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Chemical Evolution Of An Evaporating Lava Pool

by Keith CowingNovember 24, 2024November 24, 2024

Many known rocky exoplanets are so highly irradiated that their dayside surfaces are molten, and `silicate atmospheres’, composed of rock-forming elements, are generated above these lava pools.