Extrasolar Volcanoes May Soon be Detectable

We’ve all seen pictures of erupting terrestrial volcanoes from space, and even eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io in the outer solar system, but would it be possible to detect an erupting volcano on an exoplanet? Astronomers say the answer is yes! (with a few caveats) It’s going to be decades before telescopes will be able [...]

An artist's depiction of volcanoes on a moon like Io. Astronomers think that it may (barely) be possible to detect volcanic eruptions on exoplanets with the James Web Space Telescope. Exomoons will be even harder. Image credit: Wade HenningWe’ve all seen pictures of erupting terrestrial volcanoes from space, and even eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io in the outer solar system, but would it be possible to detect an erupting volcano on an exoplanet? Astronomers say the answer is yes! (with a few caveats)It’s going to be decades before telescopes will be able to resolve even the crudest surface features of rocky exoplanets, so don’t hold your breath for stunning photos of alien volcanoes outside our solar system. But astronomers have already been able to use spectroscopy to detect the composition of exoplanet atmospheres, and a group of theorists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ...