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For the first time, water has been detected on an exoplanet orbiting in its star's habitable zone.
A new study by Professor Björn Benneke of the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the Université de Montréal, his doctoral student Caroline Piaulet and several of their collaborators reports the detection of water vapour and perhaps even liquid water clouds in the atmosphere of the planet K2-18b.
The planet is nine times the mass of Earth and circling more closely to its smaller M3 dwarf star with, a year length of only 33 days. K2-18b "receives virtually the same amount of total radiation from its host star" as Earth.
Scientists currently believe that the thick gaseous envelope of K2-18b likely prevents life as we know it from existing on the planet's surface.
Still, according to Professor Benneke "This represents the biggest step yet taken towards our ultimate goal of finding life on other planets, of proving that we are not alone."
Journal Reference
Björn Benneke, Ian Wong, Caroline Piaulet, Heather A. Knutson, Ian J.M. Crossfield, Joshua Lothringer, Caroline V. Morley, Peter Gao, Thomas P. Greene, Courtney Dressing, Diana Dragomir, Andrew W. Howard, Peter R. McCullough, Eliza M.-R. Kempton Jonathan J. Fortney, Jonathan Fraine. Water Vapor on the Habitable-Zone Exoplanet K2-18b. Astronomical Journal (submitted), 2019 [link]
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday September 13 2019, @01:21AM (5 children)
Based on human's joints and heart problems, we are probably form a planet with Mars's gravity of the surface. Based on our problems with sun tan, we are probably from a red dwarf star. It makes sense as the combination is likely the most common in the galaxy.
Besides, we may simply be from Mars - it fits our biology as well.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Friday September 13 2019, @01:59AM
And here's our old white male... (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Friday September 13 2019, @05:35AM
Wut.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday September 13 2019, @10:14AM (2 children)
> Besides, we may simply be from Mars - it fits our biology as well.
Only if you regard breathing as optional.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday September 13 2019, @05:47PM
Perhaps, we just forgot about "the planet" at some point of industrialization and then simply moved on. https://www.space.com/23595-ancient-mars-oceans-nasa-video.html [space.com]
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 15 2019, @10:11AM
As long as one can keep the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood within the normal physiological limits, breathing is indeed optional.
(see also extra corporeal membrane oxygenation [nih.gov]
For other interesting things, see liquid ventilation [oup.com])
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford