Oxygen-rich exoplanets may be geologically active
Laboratory experiments suggest that these worlds have especially gooey interiors
![an illustration of the rocky exoplanet GJ 1132b](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/122221_sek_mantle-melting_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Rocky exoplanets such as GJ 1132b (shown in this artist’s impression) may have volcanoes that spew out gases into the atmosphere. Oxygen-rich rocks in such planets’ interiors could drive the melting of the mantle, possibly fueling geologic activity, a study suggests.
NASA, ESA, R. Hurt/IPAC/Caltech