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]
Related Stories
Stories submitted via Arthur T Knackerbracket and by NotSanguine about the exoplanet K2-18 b:
James Webb Telescope Detects Further Proof That Distant Exoplanet May Host Life
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Scientists have discovered methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of K2-18 b, a distant exoplanet that has long piqued the curiosity of astronomers for having the potential to sustain life.
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists based at NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) were able to detect the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the planet that is about 8.6 times the Earth’s mass.
The discovery adds to recent studies that suggested the K2-18 b could be what is known as a Hycean exoplanet – one that has the potential to have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.
[...] “Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere,” explained Prof Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper announcing these results, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.”
These initial Webb observations also provided a possible detection of a molecule called dimethyl sulphide, which on Earth is only produced by life – largely emitted by the vast swathes of phytoplankton that inhabit our oceans.
“Upcoming Webb observations should be able to confirm if [dimethyl sulphide] is indeed present in the atmosphere of K2-18 b at significant levels,” added Madhusudhan.
Even though K2-18 b hosts carbon-bearing molecules and lies in the habitable zone based on the distance from its star, this does not mean it can necessarily support life. Scientists said that the planet’s large size means that its interior likely contains a large mantle of high-pressure ice.
And while Hycean worlds are predicted to have oceans of water, it is possible that the ocean is too hot to be habitable or be liquid.
Paper preprint [PDF]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 12 2019, @09:31PM (10 children)
Is it possible for a less dense, or larger planet; which has a greater mass, to still have 1 G at the surface?
People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 12 2019, @09:39PM (2 children)
The equation is just: g = G*m/r^2
If you increase m by 9x you need to increase the radius by 81x, etc.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday September 12 2019, @11:03PM (1 child)
Me thinks you'll find that if you increase the mass by 9x you only have to go to a radius of 3x to get the same g.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 13 2019, @02:59AM
I accept your peer review as correct.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 12 2019, @09:50PM (6 children)
Higher amounts of water could lower density, but too much and it could become an ocean world.
At some point the planet could become big enough to capture too much gas and become a mini-Neptune with harsh surface conditions. The radius would increase and you can't be sure about how much of the planet is solid, liquid, or gas.
The good news is that a super earth could have multiple earth masses and still have a gravity between 1g and 2g. Humans could adapt to something like 1.25g easily. With genetic engineering humans could be rebuilt to tolerate higher gravity with less broken bones and heart failure.
(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/@ProfSteveKeen 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/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 12 2019, @09:35PM (3 children)
Whenever they talk about water they mean hydroxyl ions. Same as what they detect in comet tails.
They assume hydroxyl ions can only be formed from hydrolysis of water, this is wrong. Oxygen and Hydrogen are the first and third most common elements in the milky way and can fuse into hydroxl ions via many different pathways.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday September 13 2019, @02:10AM (2 children)
A whole planet covered in alcohol?... Sush, you'll wake up EF, you fool.
Or maybe the extract of Rosacea karlsbadensis rugo bark, aka thiotimoline?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 13 2019, @03:02AM (1 child)
No ethanol required. Just energetic events like lightening strikes along with H2, O2, and other compounds that could combine to generate OH-.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 15 2019, @09:54AM
You know what happens when you mix those two and light a match? Or an electric spark? Or other energetic event?
Me thinks water happens why quite high probability, it's the lowest free energy [khanacademy.org] of the two elements.
The reaction releases enough heat to go kaboom, and when the things go kaboom you can bet they are just waiting for a pretext to release a yuge amount of energy and become a more stable compound.
I thinks that the drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis [lexico.com] can hardly be described as a strike.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 12 2019, @09:35PM
APK annihilated that STUPID lying deluding itself it is a real woman (when it never can be) "TrAnSteSticLe" monstrosity aberration abomination of desolation https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33430&page=1&cid=889582#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] that made technical errors galore vs. him and lied saying apk started it when proof quoted proves otherwise!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday September 12 2019, @10:17PM (8 children)
I always laugh when I hear or read that phrase.
just in the last 50 years we have discovered living things in places that "life as we know it" should not have been able to exist.
Deep see thermal vents, cold methane seeps, 2.8km underground (using radioactivity to survive) and myriad other places so environmentally harsh it would kill a human in seconds.
On Earth where ever we find water we also find life. Why shouldn't the same constant apply elsewhere in the Universe?
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday September 13 2019, @01:25AM
Once life exists somewhere, it fills all the niches all right. The idea was fist formulated by Vernadsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vernadsky [wikipedia.org] in his biosphere concept. The question is if the other star systems belong to the same biosphere or have their own unique one.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday September 13 2019, @02:12AM (1 child)
Like, say, the piranha solution? Wake me up when you find life there.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday September 13 2019, @06:06PM
you forgot to mention "Aqua regia" as well
I hadn't heard of the piranha solution before, thanks for the infobit :)
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 13 2019, @03:24PM (4 children)
The phrase that makes me laugh comes from Si Fi movies / TV.
"It's made of a metal not found on earth!"
Oh, really? What element on the periodic table is that?
But with uninformed people this leads to: "but there could be metals not on the periodic table"
To which I must ask: Do you understand how the periodic table is constructed? Start with one neutron-electron. Then increment.
People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 13 2019, @03:25PM (1 child)
Doh! Not enough caffeine. proton-electron
People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 13 2019, @03:58PM
maybe with the right "press" that doesnt rely on relativity we can make stabiler nucleons with s quarks or energetic proton and neutrons (deltas)?
you know, instead of a "atom smasher", we can "somehow" coax them nucleons with a more "soft approach" into them so-called short lived states of matter that are observed in colliderz, we can expand the periodic table to include predators mini harpoon ^_^
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday September 13 2019, @05:59PM (1 child)
Lets not forget the classic "Particle of the Week" :)
I think my all time favorite, and legendary, is the quote “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” :D
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 13 2019, @06:21PM
Most of my recollections of Particle Of The Weak
would begin from Star Trek: The Next Generation. They started it.
People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.