Very unusual pair of planets is found in a solntsepodobny star

In 1 200 light years from Earth there is pair of the planets rotating round the star on orbits, otstoyashchy from each other on only 1,9 million km. Thus one of them, Kepler 36-b, is firm, as Earth, but its, and another is four times heavier, than Kepler 36-with — gaseous as the Neptune, but is twice easier than the Neptune or Uranium — the easiest gas giants of our Solar system.

Detection by team of astronomers under the direction of Joshua Carter from the Harvard-Smitsonovsky center of astrophysics of these planets which have been already recognized as the most unusual planetary pair from all known, some puzzles.

First, «суперземли» and «hot Neptunes» usually are very much far apart for gas giants aren't formed close to a star, and «суперземли» don't appear far from a star. Secondly, planets are unusual on density: Kepler 36-b in one and a half times more Earth in the sizes, but in 4,5 times is heavier. Means, its density should correspond to metals and to be much more, than at any planet of Solar system. Kepler 36-c though «the hot Neptune», in only 3,7 times of the continent in the sizes, but in 8,1 times is heavier; differently, its density is also atypical for the ice or gas giant. A gap in density at these extremely close planets — eightfold, almost as between Earth and Saturn.

The gas giant of Kepler 36-with in the sky of the firm neighbor of Kepler 36-b will look very big, it is many times more than Moon. And, probably, to cause seismic activity. (Illustration David Aguilar/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.)




But the most intriguing — is their orbits. From the Moon to Earth almost is five times closer, than the minimum distances between these planets. But the Moon in hundreds times is easier than any of these not banal heavenly bodies — so, during the moments of the greatest rapprochement tidal influences of Kepler 36-c and Kepler 36-b are at each other enormous. There is such rapprochement each 97 days, besides that cycle times of planets round the star are equal respectively to only 14 and 16 days. By estimates of astronomers, such cycle times mean that, despite extreme proximity of orbits, in the foreseeable future planets won't face.

At last, planets are very close to the local sun — 17 and 19 million km respectively. And it means that as any zemlepodobny life here and doesn't smell. Very big question is how they appeared near by at a star. The first hypothesis says that both planets were created close to the sun, it is simple then it became too old and entered into a subgiant phase, having sharply increased in the sizes as our star will make through some billions years. So planets from simply close became very close to the star. The second hypothesis considers that «the hot Neptune» was created much further from the sun, and then for not clear reasons migrated closer.

In any case detection of so unusual pair in star system, in everything similar to the Sun, but some older, shows, as in our Solar system there could be much more exotic combinations of provision of planets...

In spite of the fact that while Kepler 36-c and Kepler 36-b the planets closest to each other, known to mankind, astronomers believe that it is temporary. In the sense that not the last planets with the steady orbits, settling down in so close neighbourhood — it is necessary to look for it properly only. Well and this fact, certainly, should leave the most serious mark on development of planets. And matter not only in enormous inflow and отливах, but also in potentially strongest periodic warming up of a surface of planets because of tidal interaction.

It is prepared on materials of the Harvard-Smitsonovsky center of astrophysics.