4 ms·

"Dying" is not referring to the state of the star today, but to the process of death: the planet survived while it's star was dying, which is the interesting bi

"Dying" is not referring to the state of the star today, but to the process of death: the planet survived while it's star was dying, which is the interesting bit of the story.

denton-scratch 5y ago
Agreed. To survive in orbit around a WD is not a remarkable achievement - you just carry on orbiting forever (roughly). Orbiting a red giant would be pretty interesting, though - the RG has an indistinct surface, its diameter and luminosity varies, and it emits a lot of material as wind. To survive in orbit around a neutron star would be another thing again. Neutron stars have intense magnetic fields, and spin rather quickly, resulting in a rotating field that is wrapped around on itself. That in effect creates a particle accelerator, driving electron flows (the electrons were all expelled when the NS collapsed) with extreme energies. Short of hanging around near an exploding supernova, I can't imagine a more hostile environment.
- hinkley 5y ago
  Would the magnetic fields of a neutron star create a tidal locking effect through eddy currents in the planet’s core, boosting it into a larger orbit and slowing the spin of the star? Seems like a giant inside out induction motor. I wonder what the band of survival is, where the planet doesn’t get turned to Swiss cheese first.
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    I have no idea what the neighbourhood of a neutron star is like, nor what the effects of such intense fields might be. This is theoretical physics and cosmology. I'm not competent even to speculate. Yes, I get the "induction motor" idea. With fields and voltages that intense, I guess just about anything becomes conductive. [Edit] I don't know whether those field strengths are consistent with atoms continuing to be atoms - I guess there must be some range beyond which a thing like a planet could maintain its integrity. But (guessing wildly) I would expect there to be a region around a neutron star within which it is impossible for atoms to exist.
justshowpost 5y ago
Newly discovered Click-Bayitt type stars

"Dying" is not referring to the state of the star today, but to the process of death: the planet survived while it's star was dying, which is the interesting bit of the story.

denton-scratch 5y ago

Agreed. To survive in orbit around a WD is not a remarkable achievement - you just carry on orbiting forever (roughly). Orbiting a red giant would be pretty interesting, though - the RG has an indistinct surface, its diameter and luminosity varies, and it emits a lot of material as wind. To survive in orbit around a neutron star would be another thing again. Neutron stars have intense magnetic fields, and spin rather quickly, resulting in a rotating field that is wrapped around on itself. That in effect creates a particle accelerator, driving electron flows (the electrons were all expelled when the NS collapsed) with extreme energies. Short of hanging around near an exploding supernova, I can't imagine a more hostile environment.

hinkley 5y ago
Would the magnetic fields of a neutron star create a tidal locking effect through eddy currents in the planet’s core, boosting it into a larger orbit and slowing the spin of the star? Seems like a giant inside out induction motor. I wonder what the band of survival is, where the planet doesn’t get turned to Swiss cheese first.
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  I have no idea what the neighbourhood of a neutron star is like, nor what the effects of such intense fields might be. This is theoretical physics and cosmology. I'm not competent even to speculate. Yes, I get the "induction motor" idea. With fields and voltages that intense, I guess just about anything becomes conductive. [Edit] I don't know whether those field strengths are consistent with atoms continuing to be atoms - I guess there must be some range beyond which a thing like a planet could maintain its integrity. But (guessing wildly) I would expect there to be a region around a neutron star within which it is impossible for atoms to exist.

justshowpost 5y ago

Newly discovered Click-Bayitt type stars