THE STEPPENWOLF: A PROPOSAL FOR A HABITABLE PLANET IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE
2011; IOP Publishing; Volume: 735; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1088/2041-8205/735/2/l27
ISSN2041-8213
AutoresDorian S. Abbot, Eric R. Switzer,
Tópico(s)Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
ResumoRogue planets have been ejected from their planetary system. We investigate the possibility that a rogue planet could maintain a liquid ocean under layers of thermally insulating water ice and frozen gas as a result of geothermal heat flux. We find that a rogue planet of Earth-like composition and age could maintain a subglacial liquid ocean if it were ≈3.5 times more massive than Earth, corresponding to ≈8 km of ice. Suppression of the melting point by contaminants, a layer of frozen gas, or a larger complement of water could significantly reduce the planetary mass that is required to maintain a liquid ocean. Such a planet could be detected from reflected solar radiation, and its thermal emission could be characterized in the far-IR if it were to pass within (1000) AU of Earth.
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