Astronomers find water in atmosphere of exoplanet
Posted: Sun, Sep 15, 2019, 8:01 AM ET (1201 GMT)
Astronomers have found a planet in a star's habitable zone with evidence of water in its atmosphere, but don't make your travel plans there just yet. The planet, K2-18b, orbits its star at a distance where liquid water could exist, and spectral data from the Hubble Space Telescope showed evidence of water vapor. While some scientists called the exoplanet "the best candidate for habitability that we know right now," others cautioned the planet, about eight times the mass of the Earth, is more like a "mini-Neptune" versus a super-Earth with a dense hydrogen atmosphere that could form a layer of liquid hydrogen.
Astronomers have found a planet in a star's habitable zone with evidence of water in its atmosphere, but don't make your travel plans there just yet. The planet, K2-18b, orbits its star at a distance where liquid water could exist, and spectral data from the Hubble Space Telescope showed evidence of water vapor. While some scientists called the exoplanet "the best candidate for habitability that we know right now," others cautioned the planet, about eight times the mass of the Earth, is more like a "mini-Neptune" versus a super-Earth with a dense hydrogen atmosphere that could form a layer of liquid hydrogen.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Blue Origin describes plans for increased New Glenn launch rates
Posted: Sat, Oct 17 11:41 AM ET (1541 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 18
Exercise helps astronauts’ hearts handle months in space, boosting prospects for Mars
Northwestern Univ. — 5:12 pm ET (2112 GMT) Infostellar Selected for METI’s Global South Future-Oriented Co-Creation Project
Infostellar — 1:12 pm ET (1712 GMT) Meridian Space Successfully Activates its First Communications Payload in Orbit
GlobeNewswire — 1:11 pm ET (1711 GMT) Voyager Awarded $22.4M DoW Contract for Next-Gen Satellite Deployment Systems
Voyager Space — 1:10 pm ET (1710 GMT) Alexander Dahm named new CEO of Rocket Factory Augsburg
Rocket Factory Augsburg — 1:10 pm ET (1710 GMT) |
