Stellar winds may electrify exoplanets
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 - 08:00
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) —The strangest class of exoplanets found to date might be even stranger than astronomers have thought. A new model suggests that they are partially heated by electric currents linked to their host stars. Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) astronomer Dr. Derek Buzasi has proposed a model in which electric currents arising from the interaction between the planet's magnetic field and the hot charged wind from the star flow through the interior of the planet, heating it like an electric toaster.