Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) tagged posts

Can Garnet Planets be Habitable?

Can garnet planets be habitable?

Artist rendition of interior compositions of planets around the stars Kepler 102 and Kepler 407. The picture shows what minerals are likely to occur several different depths. Kepler 102 is Earth-like, dominated by olivine minerals, whereas Kepler 407 is dominated by garnet, so less likely to have plate tectonics. Credit: Robin Dienel, Carnegie DTM

What makes a rocky planet Earth-like? Astronomers and geoscientists have joined forces using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to study the mix of elements in exoplanet host stars, and to consider what this reveals about their planets...

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