Desert planet facts for kids
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A desert planet is a type of planet that looks a lot like Earth's hot deserts. It has a very dry surface. People also call them dry planets or arid planets. Right now, Mars is the only planet we know that fits this description.
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What is a Desert Planet?
A desert planet is a terrestrial planet. This means it is made mostly of rock or metal, like Earth. But unlike Earth, it has very little water on its surface. Instead, its surface is covered in sand, rocks, and dust, just like deserts here on Earth.
Could Desert Planets Have Life?
Scientists have studied if life could exist on desert planets.
- A study in 2011 suggested that desert planets might be able to support life.
- They might even be more common than planets exactly like Earth.
- This study found that desert planets could have a much larger "habitable zone."
- The habitable zone is the area around a star where it's not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist. Liquid water is important for life.
Earth's Future as a Desert Planet
Scientists also think that our own planet, Earth, might become a desert planet one day.
- This could happen in about a billion years.
- The Sun is slowly getting brighter and hotter.
- As the Sun gets hotter, Earth's oceans might evaporate.
- This would turn Earth into a dry, desert world.
How Water Affects Desert Planets
Another study in 2013 looked at how much water a hot desert planet needs.
- It found that some hot desert planets could exist close to stars like our Sun.
- They need a little bit of moisture, about 1% humidity, to help clean the air.
- But too much water can make the planet too hot, acting like a blanket.
- Planets with higher air pressure can keep water liquid over a wider range of temperatures.
Desert Planets in Science Fiction
The idea of desert planets is very popular in movies and books.
- One of the first times a desert planet appeared was in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.
- A famous example is the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert.
- The desert planet in Dune is called Arrakis. It was inspired by real deserts on Earth, like those in the Middle East.
- Dune then inspired many other desert planets in stories.
- The Star Wars movies have many famous desert planets.
- These include Tatooine, Geonosis, and Jakku.
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