Jupiter Swaps Homes With a Planet Being Eaten
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Question by @Yellowdudecool — thank you!
WASP-12b is a giant planet about 1.5 times Jupiter's mass that orbits its star at only about 0.023 AU, so close that a year there lasts about 1.1 days, compared with almost 12 years for Jupiter. Its star's heat and tides stretch the planet and strip away its atmosphere, and its orbit is slowly shrinking. Scientists estimate it will spiral into its star in about 3 million years. If the two planets swapped places, Jupiter would roast and be the doomed one, while WASP-12b would cool down far from the Sun.
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Transcript
- Sef What if Jupiter swapped homes with a planet its star is eating?
- Sef Easy! Jupiter gets a tan!
- Tiggy Nope. Jupiter would roast, circling its star in about a day.
- Sef And the other planet?
- Tiggy It gets saved. At home, its star eats it in about 3 million years.
- Sef Sorry, Jupiter! Here, have my ball.
- Sef Thanks for asking, Yellow dude cool!
Sources
- NASA Exoplanet Catalog: WASP-12 b science.nasa.gov
- NASA Hubble: Hubble Finds Star Eating a Planet science.nasa.gov
- ScienceDaily: Planet WASP-12b on a Death Spiral sciencedaily.com
- Universe Today: WASP-12b Will Spiral Into Its Star universetoday.com
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