Beyond the Solar System: Astronomers discover magnetic fields on seven ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIn a recent discovery, astronomers have found seven exoplanets that potentially have magnetic fields similar to Earth and five other planets in our solar system, including Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. <\/p>\n
The recent findings are one of the most compelling pieces of evidence showing the existence of magnetic fields beyond the Solar System. <\/p>\n
In this research study, researchers analyzed a group of seven “hot Jupiters” rather than assessing a single planet. As a result, they find a consistent trend in the population, indicating the existence of a magnetic field. <\/p>\n
According to the study’s lead author, astronomer Julia Seidel of the Lagrange Laboratory of the Observatoire de la C\u00f4te d’Azur in Nice, France, “What you would expect is that planets with hot temperatures would have strong winds. The more energy you put into the system, the more violent the winds would become. But we see the opposite.” <\/p>\n
According to the study findings published in the journal nature astronomy<\/i>The hottest planet unexpectedly had the weakest winds, leading to the conclusion that some other force must be howling in the atmosphere. <\/p>\n
“And the only possibility for breaking the atmosphere so rapidly is the magnetic field and its interaction with the atmosphere’s moving charged particles,” the study says. <\/p>\n
However, despite atmospheric braking, wind speeds on these exoplanets can reach up to 15,500 miles per hour.<\/p>\n
These exoplanets are tidally locked gas giants, similar in composition and size to Jupiter. But due to extreme proximity to hot stars they show higher temperatures. <\/p>\n
“Although it is a common misconception that magnetic fields directly determine whether a planet is habitable, they may play an important role in a planet’s evolution over time,” said study co-author Bibiana Prinoth, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory in Germany.<\/p>\n
But in reality, habitability is defined by the presence of an atmosphere because “the atmosphere helps maintain surface pressure, regulate temperature, and allows liquid water to exist on Earth’s surface.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n