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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Just Found a Way to See Inside a Planet Made of Lava

Some of the most extreme planets discovered beyond our Solar System may be covered by oceans of molten rock. Known as lava planets, these rocky worlds orbit so close to their host stars that temperatures on their daysides can become hot enough to melt silicate rocks—the main materials that make up rocky planets.

Now, numerical simulations led by Charles-Édouard Boukaré and his team suggest that the way these planets melt and solidify could dramatically change their atmospheres, surfaces and internal evolution. The findings also suggest that observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) could help astronomers determine what is happening deep inside these unusual worlds.

Worlds with Permanent Day and Night

Lava planets are very different from Earth. Because they orbit extremely close to their stars, they complete an orbit in a very short period. Over time, the intense gravitational pull of the host star can cause the planet to become tidally locked.

This means that the planet rotates once during every orbit around its star. As a result, one side always faces the star, while the other side remains permanently turned away.

The result is a world with two dramatically different hemispheres.

The dayside receives constant, intense radiation and can become hot enough for rocks to melt into a vast magma ocean. Meanwhile, the nightside receives little or no direct starlight and can be cold enough for the molten material to solidify.

This creates an extraordinary planetary environment: a world with a permanent ocean of molten rock on one side and a potentially frozen, solid surface on the other.

There is nothing quite like this in our Solar System.

Why the Interior Matters

Although lava planets have been studied for years, scientists still do not fully understand how their interiors evolve.

One major question is how the separation between liquid and solid material affects the planet's composition.

When a rocky planet partially melts, its different chemical components do not necessarily remain mixed together. Some elements prefer to stay in the liquid magma, while others become concentrated in the solid material as the planet cools.

This process, known as solid–liquid fractionation, can change both the planet's interior and the gases released into its atmosphere.

Boukaré and his colleagues investigated this process using numerical simulations. Their models considered two very different possibilities for the internal state of a lava planet.

Scenario One: A Completely Molten Interior

In the first scenario, the planet is assumed to be almost entirely molten.

Under these conditions, the material inside the planet remains relatively well connected to the surface environment. The atmosphere produced by volcanic outgassing would therefore broadly reflect the planet's overall bulk silicate composition.

In other words, the gases surrounding the planet would provide information about the chemical makeup of its rocky interior.

But the nightside would behave in a fascinating way.

As molten material moves away from the extremely hot dayside, it can cool and solidify. However, the newly formed solid material may be gravitationally unstable. Instead of remaining permanently in place, it can sink or be displaced, allowing fresh molten material to reach the surface.

This creates a constantly changing nightside.

The solid surface would effectively be replenished again and again, as material moves through the planet's interior and returns to the surface.

Such a planet would therefore be highly dynamic, with melting, cooling and internal movement continuously reshaping its surface.

Scenario Two: A Mostly Solid Planet

The second scenario presents a very different picture.

Here, most of the planet's interior has already become solid. Only a relatively shallow magma ocean remains on the dayside, where temperatures are high enough to keep rocks molten.

This difference has important consequences for the planet's atmosphere.

As melting and solidification separate different chemical components, some elements become less available for atmospheric release. The simulations show that the resulting atmosphere would be depleted in sodium (Na), potassium (K) and iron oxide (FeO) compared with the planet's original bulk silicate composition.

The surface would also be dramatically different from the first scenario.

Instead of a constantly changing nightside, the planet would have an entirely solid mantle beneath its nightside surface. With no large-scale molten interior feeding the nightside, the cold hemisphere could remain stable for long periods.

The two planets might look similar from a distance, but their interiors would be fundamentally different.

JWST Could Tell the Difference

One of the most exciting aspects of this research is that these differences may not remain hidden forever.

The James Webb Space Telescope, with its powerful infrared instruments, can study the atmospheres of distant exoplanets. When a planet passes in front of its star, astronomers can analyze how starlight interacts with the planet's atmosphere.

Different chemical elements absorb light at specific wavelengths. By studying these spectral fingerprints, scientists can determine which gases are present and estimate their abundances.

That means JWST observations could potentially distinguish between the two extreme interior scenarios.

A lava planet with an atmosphere that broadly reflects its bulk rocky composition could point toward a largely molten interior. In contrast, an atmosphere depleted in sodium, potassium and FeO could indicate that the planet has undergone significant solid–liquid fractionation and now contains a mostly solid interior.

In this way, atmospheric observations could provide clues about processes occurring deep beneath an exoplanet's surface.

A New Way to Study Planetary Interiors

Traditionally, scientists learn about Earth's interior through methods such as seismic observations, gravity measurements and studies of rocks. For planets orbiting distant stars, however, directly examining their interiors is impossible.

Lava planets offer a unique alternative.

Because their extreme temperatures connect their interiors, surfaces and atmospheres so closely, studying their atmospheres may reveal information about what is happening inside them.

The work by Boukaré and his team shows that a planet's atmosphere is not simply a layer of gas surrounding a rocky world. It can also be a record of the planet's thermal and chemical history.

The difference between a fully molten planet and one with only a shallow magma ocean could leave a detectable chemical signature in the atmosphere.

Extreme Planets, Valuable Clues

Lava planets may seem like hostile and exotic worlds, but they could become important laboratories for understanding how rocky planets form and evolve.

Their extreme environments allow scientists to study processes that are difficult or impossible to observe on Earth. The interaction between molten rock, solid interiors, atmospheres and stellar radiation provides a natural experiment in planetary evolution.

The new simulations suggest that the amount of melting inside these worlds can fundamentally control their surface conditions and atmospheric chemistry.

As JWST and future observatories study more of these extreme exoplanets, astronomers may be able to compare their atmospheric fingerprints and determine how their interiors have changed over time.

Ultimately, these fiery worlds could help answer a much broader question: How do rocky planets evolve from hot, molten bodies into stable worlds with solid interiors?

Lava planets may be among the harshest environments in the galaxy, but their glowing surfaces and unusual atmospheres could offer scientists an extraordinary window into the hidden interiors of distant worlds.

Reference: Boukaré, CÉ., Lemasquerier, D., Cowan, N.B. et al. The role of interior dynamics and differentiation on the surface and in the atmosphere of lava planets. Nat Astron 9, 1511–1522 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02617-4

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