Scientists believe that the surface of planet 55 Cancri e is covered with diamonds and graphite. Also able to store and circulate heat thanks to the atmospheric layer.
Recently, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) – the United States Aerospace Agency (NASA) recently discovered the planet 55 Cancri-e located about 40 light years from Earth and a similar atmosphere. This result was published on Astrophysics on 11/16/2017.
Planet 55 Cancri e, discovered by astronomers at Yale University (USA), has a radius twice the size of Earth and weighs eight times that of our planet. Scientists believe that the surface of planet 55 Cancri e is covered with diamonds and graphite.
Analyzing data collected from the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2013, scientists found that 55 Cancri-e is twice the size of Earth and has an orbital period (orbiting the mother star) of about 18 hours.
Because it is too close to the mother star, 55 Cancri-e is “blocked by the tide” meaning that half of the planet is still day and the other half is still night.
The part that still faces the parent star above 55 Cancri-e has a temperature of around 2300 degrees C, the opposite part is cooler between 1300 and 1400 degrees C (the level can burn everything by standards on earth.).
55 Cancri-e is also able to store and circulate heat thanks to its thick atmosphere. Without this atmospheric layer, the temperature difference between the two parts of the planet would be even greater.
Additionally, 55 Cancri-e’s atmosphere may contain water, nitrogen, or even oxygen – elements found in Earth’s atmosphere. However, because the surface temperature is so high, there is little chance of life on this planet.
Scientists still don’t understand why 55 Cancri-e maintains such a thick atmosphere. Theoretically, it would be blown away by the amount of radiation emitted by the nearby star.
Currently, scientists have yet to discover another planet with characteristics similar to 55 Cancri e: to fly close to its sun, with characteristics similar to “super-Earth” planets, because 55 Cancri e is therefore a suitable research subject.
