Worlds with Eternal Magma Oceans ⚡ экспресс
Sub-Neptunes—the most common type of exoplanet found—might have an uncertain internal structure. One idea: they're gas dwarfs (rocky cores wrapped in hydrogen atmospheres). Calculations using the PROTEUS climate model reveal that if this is true, 98% of known sub-Neptunes lie in a zone where their interiors stay molten—a magma ocean—like giant lava lamps, forever boiling from within. It's fascinating that even today Earth has a solid crust, while these distant worlds may be locked in their fiery youth forever. Understanding how magma interacts with the atmosphere will help unlock their secrets.
A star warms its planet like an oven warms a kettle. For most sub-Neptunes (worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune), the heat is enough to keep an ocean of molten rock eternally churning beneath a hydrogen sky. A computer model revealed that 98% of such known planets remain molten inside—provided they truly resemble gas dwarfs with a light atmosphere of hydrogen.
If a planet has a lot of oxygen inside and carbon outside, its atmosphere gets heavier and cools faster. But for most worlds, the internal fire hasn’t gone out. This flips our understanding upside down: we used to think such bodies freeze solid over billions of years, but it turns out their interiors are still blazing.
🎯 Sub-Neptunes are the most common planet type in our galaxy, yet none exist in our Solar System.