Exoplanets have 'exotic' rocks that can't be found in our solar system
Daily MailRocky planets outside our solar system, known as Exoplanets, are composed of 'exotic' rock types that don't even exist in our planetary system, a study shows. 'While some exoplanets that once orbited polluted white dwarfs appear similar to Earth, most have rock types that are exotic to our solar system,' said study author astronomer Siyi Xu at NOIRLab. They found that these white dwarfs have a much wider range of compositions than any of the inner planets in our solar system, suggesting their planets have a wider variety of rock types. The team studied polluted white dwarfs using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i and other observatories High levels of magnesium and low levels of silicon measured in the white dwarfs' atmospheres suggest that the rocky debris detected likely came from the interiors of the planets, from the mantle, not their crust. Some previous studies of polluted white dwarfs reported signs that continental crust existed on the rocky planets that once orbited those stars.
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