11 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
I have two questions regarding exoplanets.
1. Is it possible for a planet to orbit a black hole in a proximity that wouldn't exclude a possibility for us to explore it, once we manage interstellar travel?
2. Basically the same question regarding hypothethical pulsar systems.
Sorry if these sound dumb. I'm a newbie.
Comment by nickelarse at 20/07/2022 at 14:45 UTC
15 upvotes, 4 direct replies
In principle, yes - both are just objects with a particular mass. Black holes only start behaving weirdly once you get inside the event horizon, but that wouldn't affect the sort of distances where stable orbits would occur.
However, I think that in both cases they would be unlikely. The formation of a black hole would probably destroy any existing planetary system, so the planet might have to be captured later. Not sure about pulsars, but presumably the surface of any such planet would be totally blasted by radiation.