{"id":32409,"date":"2012-04-06T23:16:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-06T23:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/"},"modified":"2017-07-01T18:49:45","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T18:49:45","slug":"the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-32409 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32410\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo1_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo1_500-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo1_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32411\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo2_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo2_500-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo2_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32412\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo3_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo3_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo3_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32413\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo4_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo4_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo4_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32414\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo5_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo5_500-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo5_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32415\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo6_400-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo6_400-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo6_400-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32416\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo8_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo8_500-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo8_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32417\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo9_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo9_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo9_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32418\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo10_500-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo10_500-150x150.png 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo10_500-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/attachment\/32419\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo11_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo11_500-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/tumblr_m1vycr1vmO1qe649zo11_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/the-star-stuff.tumblr.com\/post\/20393616440\/a-field-guide-to-alien-planets-january-10\">the-star-stuff<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h1><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/988-what-types-of-alien-planets-are-out-there.html\">A Field Guide to Alien Planets <\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n<blockquote>\n<h1><small><em>(January 10, 2011)<\/em><\/small><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><small><span>Alien planets come in all shapes and sizes. Generally speaking, these planets \u2014 known to astronomers as exoplanets or extrasolar planets \u2014 orbit stars outside our solar system, but there are a few surprises out there. Here\u2019s a look at the types of exotic worlds that scientists have discovered so far.<\/span><\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Pulsar planets<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>The first true discovery of extrasolar planets came in 1994, when radio astronomers discovered worlds around the pulsar PSR B1257+12, about 980 light-years away in the constellation Virgo. A pulsar is not a normal star, but a dense, rapidly spinning remnant of a supernova explosion. The oldest\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/702-whats-an-exoplanet.html\">exoplanet<\/a>\u00a0known yet, PSR B1620-26\u00a0b, nicknamed Methuselah, is also a pulsar planet, located 5,600 light years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Hot Jupiters<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>A \u201cHot Jupiter\u201d is a gas giant that is as close or closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun. The first discovery of an extrasolar planet around a sun-like star was 51 Pegasi B, an exoplanet roughly 50 light-years away. Of the 429 exoplanets discovered to date, 89 have been hot Jupiters, most likely because their large size and proximity to their stars makes them easier to spot using current techniques.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Exo-Earths<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>Although the vast majority of the exoplanets found have been gas or ice giants, terrestrial exoplanets most likely outnumber these behemoths, and upcoming missions may soon finally discover rocky worlds the size of Earth with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/201-how-hot-are-the-planets-in-our-solar-system.html\">atmospheric conditions<\/a>\u00a0that mimic our own. To harbor life, these \u201cGoldilocks planets\u201d would have to orbit their star at just the right distance from\u00a0 to not roast or freeze \u2014 as well as be large enough to retain an atmosphere , but not so large as to become a gas giant.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Super-Earths<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>A super-Earth is a planet with a mass roughly 10 times greater than Earth\u2019s. The first super-Earths ever found were two of the planets around PSR B1257+12. Super-Earths might be more\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/413-why-is-earth-mostly-crater-free-compared-to-the-moon.html\">geologically active than our planet,<\/a>\u00a0as astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggest they experience more vigorous plate tectonics because they possess thinner plates that are under more stress.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Eccentric planets<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>The planets in our solar system have, for the most part, fairly circular orbits. The exoplanets found so far, however, can have far more eccentric orbits, moving in close and then far from their stars. Where a perfect circle has an eccentricity value of zero, roughly half of exoplanets seen thus far have an eccentricity of 0.25 or greater. These eccentric orbits can cause exoplanets to experience extreme heat waves.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Super Neptunes<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>Only one \u201csuper Neptune\u201d has been discovered so far: In 2009,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/929-how-astronomers-find-exoplanets.html\">astronomers discovered a planet<\/a>\u00a0somewhat larger and more massive than Neptune orbiting a star 120 light-years from Earth. The solid planet earned the name \u201csuper Neptune\u201d because it shares many of the physical characteristics of our Neptune. Neptune has a diameter 3.8 times that of Earth and a mass 17 times Earth\u2019s, the Super Neptune (named HAT-P-11b) is 4.7 times the size of Earth and has 25 Earth masses.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Water worlds<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>There are two kinds of worlds that might be\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/829-how-much-water-on-earth-100909html.html\">entirely covered with water<\/a>\u00a0. \u201cOne is a terrestrial Earth-like planet that\u2019s just covered with a lot more water than our world, like the Kevin Costner movie, but is otherwise still familiar,\u201d said astronomer Charles Beichman, executive director of NASA\u2019s Exoplanet Science Institute. \u201cOr you can imagine a hot Neptune which is almost totally composed of water that is close enough to its star to not be frozen, but instead have an ocean thousands of kilometers deep and perhaps an atmosphere like a gas giant\u2019s, with lots of hydrogen and water vapor.\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Chthonian planets<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>Sometimes hot Jupiters or hot Neptunes orbit too close to their stars, and the star\u2019s heat and extreme gravity can rip away the planet\u2019s water or atmosphere, leaving behind the rocky core. Scientists have dubbed these evaporated remnant cores \u201cchthonian planets.\u201d Their proximity to their stars could mean they are covered in lava.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Free-floating planets<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>There are hints that a number of bodies with the mass of gas giants might be free-floating, rather than\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeslittlemysteries.com\/304-what-is-the-largest-known-star.html\">orbiting a star<\/a>. These bodies might either have escaped from their suns or never had a star to begin with, born in star-forming regions without the mass needed to ignite.<\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"countdown_intro\"><small><strong>Rogue planets<\/strong><\/small><\/div>\n<div class=\"count_desc\">\n<p><small>A rogue planet is a planet-sized object that has been ejected from its system and is no longer gravitationally bound to any star, so it orbits the galaxy directly. To become a rogue planet, a planetary-mass object would have to be ejected from its solar system, making it starless. This could be achieved by the competing gravitational forces of the sun and larger planets. Also known as interstellar planet, or orphan planet, a rogue planet would require geothermal activity in to sustain life without energy from a star.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the-star-stuff: A Field Guide to Alien Planets (January 10, 2011) Alien planets come in all shapes and sizes. Generally speaking, these planets \u2014 known to astronomers as exoplanets or extrasolar planets \u2014 orbit stars outside our solar system, but there are a few surprises out there. Here\u2019s a look at the types of exotic worlds &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/04\/06\/the-star-stuff-a-field-guide-to-alien-planets\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9113,1145],"class_list":["post-32409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-asdfhjkl","tag-resources","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32420,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32409\/revisions\/32420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}