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Astronomers have spotted a molten alien planet orbiting a star in our neighbourhood of the Milky Way galaxy that has a surface not unlike a vision of hell.
The planet, named L 98-59 d, is covered with magma and has a noxious and fiercely hot sulfur-rich atmosphere.
It has a diameter more than 60% greater than that of the Earth, though its density is only about 40% in comparison.
The planet orbits a star dimmer and slighter than the sun located around 34 light-years from Earth in the constellation Volans.
A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
“The planet lacks distinct structure within its magma ocean, so there is no crust, upper mantle and lower mantle. The magma ocean is a single deep, mushy layer,” said Harrison Nicholls, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge Institute of Astronomy.
Mr Nicholls is the lead author of the research published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Small crystals of solid rock may be trapped within the turbulent fluid magma that makes up the mantle, Mr Nicholls added.
The planet’s metallic core appears to be relatively small, with the magma ocean comprising 70-90% of the planetary interior radius – reaching a depth of between 2,775 and 3,565 miles (4,465-5,740 km).
Its thick atmosphere is primarily made up of hydrogen, but has a very high sulfur content.
Around 10% of the atmosphere is the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide, giving off the odour of rotten eggs.
The atmosphere has created a runaway greenhouse effect, trapping heat from the star, that keeps the planet’s surface hot enough to remain molten.
“Your nose can smell hydrogen sulfide at concentrations of something like one part per billion, so this would be overwhelmingly stinky. But you wouldn’t survive long enough in this hot atmosphere to notice,” said planetary scientist and study…
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