Exoplanet 55 Cancer e falls into the new category of super-earth, which includes abundance of rubies and sapphires
The latest study reports a new kind of super-earthl, filled with rubies and sapphires. The researchers were able to find many different types of exoplanets, among which is the type of super-earth - rocky worlds that can exceed the Earth by 10 times. There is not much information about them, because there are no such objects in the Solar System.
To understand the categories, scientists have studied the process of their formation. The planets are created from protoplanetary disks of gas and dust surrounding the newborn stars. The temperature inside such disks varies depending on the distance of the ingredients from the stars, which affects the formation of minerals. Everything suggests that it affects the appearance of many planets, which differ in composition.
Now, researchers believe that they have managed to discover a new kind of exoplanets, filled with sapphires and rubies. Previously, scientists believed that super-earths are rich in iron, repeating the composition of the Earth, as they appeared in the cooler parts of protoplanetary disks. But there is an assumption that the new type contains calcium and aluminum, as well as minerals rich in these elements, including sapphires and rubies. Such worlds should appear in more hot spots of protoplanetary disks. Analyzes show that the new class should be 10-20% lower than the Earth in density. Moreover, they have already managed to find super-Earths that meet these criteria. For example, these are the 55 Cancer e and WASP-47 e, for which the unusual density of light was listed. Perhaps they are endowed with dense atmospheres, but this is difficult to imagine because of the close distance to the star. That is, they are red-hot and the atmosphere could not be kept. In composition, HD 219134 b is also attributed here.
