Login Register
Follow Us

'Water found for first time on potentially habitable exoplanet'

LONDON: Astronomers have for the first time discovered water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet with Earth-like temperatures that could support life as we know it.

Show comments

LONDON

Astronomers have for the first time discovered water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet with Earth-like temperatures that could support life as we know it.

K2-18b, which is eight times the mass of Earth, is now the only planet orbiting a star outside the Solar System, or 'exoplanet', known to have both water and temperatures that could be potentially habitable, according to the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The planet orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18, which is about 110 light years from Earth in the Leo constellation, researchers said.

The discovery is the first successful atmospheric detection for an exoplanet orbiting in its star's 'habitable zone', at a distance where water can exist in liquid form, they said.

"Finding water in a potentially habitable world other than Earth is incredibly exciting," said Angelos Tsiaras from the University College London (UCL) in the UK.

"K2-18b is not 'Earth 2.0' as it is significantly heavier and has a different atmospheric composition. However, it brings us closer to answering the fundamental question: Is the Earth unique?" said Tsiaras.

The team used archive data from 2016 and 2017 captured by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope and developed open-source algorithms to analyse the starlight filtered through K2-18b's atmosphere.

The results revealed the molecular signature of water vapour, also indicating the presence of hydrogen and helium in the planet's atmosphere, researchers said.

They believe that other molecules including nitrogen and methane may be present but, with current observations, they remain undetectable.

Further studies are required to estimate cloud coverage and the percentage of atmospheric water present, the researchers said. — PTI 

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

View All

40-year-old Delhi man takes 200 flights in 110 days to steal jewellery from co-passengers, would assume dead brother’s identity

2 separate cases of theft were reported on separate flights in the past three months, after which a dedicated team from IGI Airport was formed to nab the culprits

Mother's Day Special: How region’s top cops, IAS officer strike a balance between work and motherhood

Punjab DGP Gurpreet, Himachal DGP Satwant, Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep, Ferozepur SSP Saumya, IAS officer Amrit Singh open up on the struggles they face

Enduring magic of Surjit Patar: A tribute to Punjab’s beloved poet

A tribute to Punjab’s beloved poet, who passed away aged 79 in Ludhiana

Indian Air force rescues 2 NRI women tourists from forest of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur

Local administration warns tourists not to venture on the Churdhar track without information

Most Read In 24 Hours