Study: Strange Planet Has Atmosphere of Gaseous Rock -- and It Rains Pebbles

Discover 'blogs ^ | October 1, 2009 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

The exoplanet Corot-7b... is extraordinarily close to its parent star, and researchers think that it's tidally locked so that one hemisphere always faces the star's blasting heat. On that side, temperatures are thought to reach about 4,220 degrees Fahrenheit -- hot enough to vaporize rock... its atmosphere consists of what might be called vaporized rock... during storms, pebbles may condense out of the atmosphere. "As you go higher the atmosphere gets cooler and eventually you get saturated with different types of 'rock' the way you get saturated with water in the atmosphere of Earth," Fegley explained. "But instead of a water cloud forming and then raining water droplets, you get a 'rock cloud' forming and it starts raining out little pebbles of different types of rock" [SPACE.com].

[SunkenCiv]

• Alien world is slimmest and fastest known [ COROT Exo-7b ]
• Smallest exoplanet is shown to be a solid, rocky world
• First Solid Evidence for a Rocky Exoplanet
• Earth-like planet Corot-7b found outside solar system

[SunkenCiv]

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Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

[DustyMoment]

For a minute, I thought this was a description of Algore . . . Until it got to the “rains rock part!

[wastedyears]

No, send Liberals there. They’ll outlaw rock rain.

[GeronL]

whoa

[Atom Smasher]

No, send Liberals there. They’ll outlaw rock rain.

###########

Correction, send the Libs there & they’ll smoke the rock!

[JRios1968]

...and it rains pebbles.

"Fruity or Cocoa?"

[Thrownatbirth]

Get the large size. You might need several coats.

[reg45]

A new home for the Gitmo detainees.

[Clock King]

"Sounds like my kind of place!"

[count-your-change]

Is that the same planet that had metallic dust filling the atmosphere and that had the dust, copper, I think, condensing into small discs that fell to ground? Pennies from heaven!

[Skooz]

bfl

[NavyCanDo]

Odd how they can assume so much about a dot in the night sky that we can’t even see without the most powerful telescopes.

But even if they are right about the planet, pebble rain showers is pretty boring. Alert me when they find a planet full of beautiful amazonian women.

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, I think we live on one. :’)

[JoeProBono]