Potential Day-Night Cycles Detected on Bizarre Close-Orbiting Lava World

Exoplanet researchers dedicate countless hours to discovering habitable solar systems and planets. However, most of the planets in our galaxy are inhospitable, and some are incredibly strange.

One prime example is 55 Cancri e, an extraordinary super Earth that completes an orbit around its red dwarf star in just 17 hours. Positioned 40 light years away in the Cancer constellation, the planet’s surface experiences extreme temperatures capable of melting iron and is home to a global lava ocean.

Until recently, it was believed that 55 Cancri e would be tidally locked to its parent star, resulting in one side of the planet constantly facing daylight.

However, Recent Findings Suggest Otherwise

New observations indicate that 55 Cancri e might possess a day and night cycle.

Through the use of NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS), an astronomer from Stockholm University named Alexis Brandeker and his team discovered unexpected temperature and orbital variations in 55 Cancri e.

In a recent interview, Brandeker explained that planets orbiting in such close proximity to their parent stars are usually tidally locked. However, the observed temperature fluctuations on 55 Cancri e suggest the possible existence of a normal day-night cycle. Brandeker speculates that the slightly eccentric orbit of the planet, caused by gravitational disturbances from other planets in its system, might account for these variations.

The other three planets in the system were discovered several years before 55 Cancri e and orbit at significantly greater distances.

Insights Gained from Observations

Astronomers can glean valuable information about a planet’s surface and potential atmosphere by observing it during moments when it passes behind and emerges from its parent star. The CHEOPS spacecraft has conducted multiple such observations since 2020.

Brandeker explains, “We have observed this planet from different vantage points and have discovered that it exhibits far more variability than anticipated. At present, we are unable to fully explain these findings, as our data is still being analyzed. Therefore, we cannot be certain that our conclusions are entirely accurate.”

The Origins of 55 Cancri e

55 Cancri e did not form in its current location but rather originated farther out and migrated inward. The specifics of this migration are still unknown.

One theory proposes that the planet was originally a gas giant that formed at a greater distance and subsequently lost its outer gas envelope, possibly due to the solar wind from its parent star. Another hypothesis suggests that it is a rocky, Earth-like planet that happened to be around eight times more massive than our own.

Brandeker leans towards the latter hypothesis, noting that losing a dense atmosphere is not an easy process. “I believe it is more likely that 55 Cancri e is simply a rocky planet that formed in that state,” he states.

A mere generation ago, astronomers struggled to indirectly detect exoplanets with such peculiar short orbits. Today, researchers like Brandeker regularly use spectroscopy to study close-in exoplanets around numerous stars.

The Unique Nature of 55 Cancri e

“This implies that the planet experiences mornings when the sun rises, causing the surface to melt and eventually form a silicate mineral atmosphere,” explains Brandeker. “Then, as the evening arrives and the planet cools down, the vapor atmosphere condenses and rains out as lava.”

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