A Waterfall of Planets: The Mystery of the Vanishing Water Worlds ⚡ экспресс
Original: "The Radius Cliff is a Waterfall: Explaining Sub-Neptune Exoplanets with Steam Worlds"
New research explains the sharp drop in planet sizes around other stars, comparing it to a waterfall of water worlds.
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The Kepler telescope found hundreds of ocean planets: Neptune-sized but almost entirely water. Interestingly, at a radius greater than three Earths, such worlds suddenly 'vanish' — like a stream plunging over a waterfall. This cliff indicates that large planets can't do without a fluffy blanket of hydrogen and helium.
🎯 On water planets, water turns into hot ice under incredible pressure — a solid substance that remains red-hot. So the oceans there can be liquid on top and icy deep down at the same time.
🎬 In 'Interstellar,' the characters visit Miller's planet, covered by a shallow ocean. But real water worlds are more like giant droplets without a solid surface, far deeper than any Earthly seas.