Artist's depiction of Proxima Centauri B. Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser via NASA
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“Most Earth-like exoplanets that we have found today orbit around M dwarfs,” Ojha explained. “Given that basal melting was something that likely happened and, depending on who you talk to, could have been one of the main ways of generating liquid water on our solar system’s planets billions of years ago, we wanted to ascertain what would be required for basal melting, and if this could happen on other planetary bodies.”With that aim in mind, the researchers ran sophisticated models of exoplanets that are based on real worlds that have been spotted by telescopes, including Proxima Centauri B, TRAPPIST-1 e, and Kepler 442 b. The team specifically focused on the dynamics of various ice sheets as a way to constrain the odds that subglacial oceans could melt out as a result of geothermal energy on extraterrestrial worlds.The results revealed that even modest flows of geothermal heat could thaw out bodies of water under the ice shells of distant exoplanets, indicating that these hidden oceans are likely abundant in red dwarf systems across the Milky Way.
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