'I'm seeing this thing that no one has seen happen before.'
"I'm seeing this thing that no one has seen happen before," said study co-author Jackie Villadsen, an assistant professor for physics and astronomy at Bucknell University, in aThe detection of a magnetic field on the exoplanet, dubbed YZ Ceti b, means that it very well could harbor an atmosphere.
Life, insofar as we know, needs a planet with an atmosphere to survive. But atmospheres themselves seem to need magnetic fields to shield them from the volatile emissions of the planet's host star. Otherwise, they'd be stripped apart over time.Because detecting magnetic fields on small planets is so difficult, the researchers undertook a novel approach to level the playing field, wagering that their best bet would be to look at planetsclose to their stars.
Then, by measuring the strength of the resulting radio waves, the scientists can gauge the strength of the exoplanet's magnetic field.
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