Multimedia Gallery
Radio waves being generated by interactions between star and its exoplanet
An artist's conceptual rendering of interactions between the small red dwarf star YZ Ceti and its orbiting exoplanet YZ Ceti b. Plasma emitted from the star is deflected by the exoplanet's magnetic field, then interacts with the star's magnetic field, resulting in an aurora on the star and the emission of radio waves. The radio signals were detected using NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array.
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants AST 2108985 and AST 2150703.]
Learn more in the NSF Research News story Do Earth-like exoplanets have magnetic fields? Far-off radio signal is promising sign. (Date of image: April 2023; date posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: May 26, 2023)
Credit: Alice Kitterman/National Science Foundation
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