NASA Discovers Potential Earth Like Planet With Oceans

The NASA space agency reported its probable finding of a water ocean surface and a specific chemical that may indicate the presence of organisms on another planet outside of our solar system recently

Information from NASA’s James Webb Telescope on the planet K2-18 b, which orbits a dwarf star 120 light years from Earth in the constellation Leo, suggested evidence of methane, carbon, and a lack of ammonia. This indicates that K2-18 b is a Hycean exoplanet. 

An exoplanet is a planet that has a hydrogen atmosphere and has a plethora of water. The findings also indicated the potential presence of dimethyl sulfide (DMS). This a chemical that only living things on Earth can create, mostly phytoplankton. 

The bigger Hycean planets are substantially more amenable to atmospheric measurements, although the hunt for life on exoplanets has historically concentrated mostly on small rock-covered planets. 

These results, according to Madhusudhan, are not definitive. NASA plans to do further investigations to find out if DMS really does exist on a distant planet that is nearly nine times bigger than Earth. 

Their long-term goal is the discovery of life on a suitable exoplanet, which would fundamentally alter our perception of our role in the cosmos. In this endeavor, NASA’s results represent a promising first step toward improving our knowledge of hycean environments. 

Could Life Exist on K2-18 B?

Even though K2-18 b lies in the designated livable zone, or at a location close enough to the sun where life could flourish, NASA claimed that because of its size, they believe the planet to be comparable to Neptune. 

The team will investigate the global environment further using James Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) spectrograph camera, according to NASA. The report says that it is difficult to study planets like K2-18 b because they are obscured by the light of surrounding stars. NASA has already praised the possibility of finding water on exoplanets. 

The organization stated in 2022 that it had discovered water vapor on HAT-P-11b. This is a second planet similar to Neptune. It is 120 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation.

Additional Possible Livable Planets

A new planet has been found by researchers. Its designation is TOI-733b and its distance from Earth is 245 light-years. Its size is just under twice that of the Earth. It has a distinguishing quality: its atmosphere.

Two options have been provided by experts so far. The initial possibility is that its atmospheric layer may have been destroyed. The second is the potential that the planet is a “highly irradiated oceanic world.” 

The planet circles a star a little smaller than the Sun. It takes the planet nearly five days to finish its orbit. We will keep an eye on NASA’s further research about TOI-733b, HAT-P-11b, and K2-18 B. 

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