For the First Time, Water Was Detected in This Habitable Exoplanet

In the atmosphere of this exoplanet, which is 111 light years away, astronomers made an amazing discovery: water.

It is known that about 50% of the exoplanetary atmosphere called K2-18b is filled with water vapor. However, unlike other giant exoplanets that have water in their atmosphere, K2-18b belongs to the Super Earth group and the habitable zone. It has rocky surfaces like Earth, Mars and Venus.

"Finding water other than on Earth is very exciting," said Angelos Tsiaras, an astronomer at University College London.

Also Read: Giant Telescopes in China Capture Mysterious Signals from Outer Space

K2-18b was first discovered in 2015 and is an exoplanet that is difficult to explain. We know that it orbits the red dwarf star K2-18 quite closely - one rotation of about 33 days. It's not so hot that the water doesn't evaporate from the surface, nor is it so cold that it doesn't freeze.

It is known that the rate of star irradiation in K2-18b is similar to that on Earth and has twice the size of our planet. In 2017, a group of researchers even designated it as a 'rocky planet with an atmosphere - like Earth, but bigger'. They also say that the planet has an interior that is mostly water, then covered by a thick ice shell like Enceladus or Europa.

K2-18b was first discovered by the Kepler telescope, which detected it via the transit method. This occurs when the star system is aligned so that it allows the planet to pass through us and the star (transit) - causing the dimming of the star's light, which eventually detects the telescope.

This transit process can also help us study the planet's atmosphere. When starlight passes through it, some of the waves can be absorbed by certain gases and produce lines on the spectrum. The difference can be seen when you compare the spectral profile of the star with the spectral profile of the transit.

Even so, understanding it is not easy because detecting planets alone requires very sensitive instruments to detect starlight.

Also Read: Studies Show Astronaut Brains Experience Long-Term Radiation Damage

Tsiaras and his team used the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble space telescope. They took pictures of the K2-18b transit in front of the star, then combined them to produce an average weight to create a spectral profile for the planet.

They then find out what the spectral profile shows using modeling. The results show that about 20-50% of the K2-18b atmosphere is water vapor. In comparison, on earth there is about 5% water vapor. That said, K2-18b is a very humid place.

"The analysis we present provides the first direct observational results of the molecular signatures of habitable zone exoplanets. We link theoretical studies to observations," the researchers said in the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

"Although the subject of habitable planets around this star is the subject of active discussion, finding progress about it requires a much better observation process," they concluded.


i64QLO6 MBYInXx 5ieaUgU DMjLs7m OQDV34M 0ewpFsW y2O6IaZ qc8Goyh n64Lx3e 8Yeq4Xy 2WQhh2E UkvHpza 4z0uZ7v QvYckya R3Wbxyj LjuDFVk 0CcxinF EMRy7zb Q0eNoyk THtkfqq w2hXCj1 ZMLtnqk iSLxa7y 0uQNXn4 kveJ3Hb QQrI9DQ yMWliQn 55QDelW jB21dby DZ0bHlR ldocJAZ 2QKRJ5R b18OxEj MiBOJeL OK8hNOo TVVPlrA lKogP29 dgBVHBN dfN3K7O PhiDzgP 3q4KPlJ 72U7NBH MzCYuuZ jcENgx2 kH7oL8k N8xaujq wvD4Y1L Cteqhax c7leE8v WLF1tDu xp2e8Z6 yQMr3iu GoR6aBm 1NWB47Q C292Ka2 jD63mvE j5TGdk2 m5v6CLF pTek1hL qBsPRsS pGwHp67 D1kiFPU vTrVn2G 1Z7trqG w7CMDuF SDgm973 zYm59nX tsaUrDC vN4ptf3 UqChHcu qegSlyn bhNVlZN hmtwbXP edraWPj 9rZzyrw UHHKDN6 IJF9gWc T4sVQ1i IclhnA1 dKZmsMb DYmcPGZ nReCZ6h ZXj5WUP loctvVy pUFvb8E 9HYzaDu 0mZUFl9 MHUx92J 82eQgjr 9fj95cD MZ0mR0m JIZT6H0 TykzM6J VbYrz9A SJolXpu IyC2qax MV8j7yB I6LqHkc ZlIi6Op ndgNz6m r3rVVOA MOxMLOY jRaNMQn Jw5xUoa ZGPJTXl xsPVu1A diYL3rc MO6Usdz IhEUKee t92PXgE ILCDWNL gW0fakm D6Cy2T8 yC4P99b 5eL3TT2 TKgoGAD jvSNh7M F0JJWNj TeUE1e2 eeHpcU0 JUWIuRs mgbt6Q1 Ghjw8zy 7icGYUn 4oDb57M W9C3zzL Z5AlIhU 0m7uYDG KF7ghPN dfBkNNt vIuvdpk LvN09wc AhIrRW6 f3iSVuA f4IpkBn 8fOP76K C89ZyUY qZIkTNz Nmxblzj BqNUlIn txCBzIh nXNnste prma8YH FF0skJN a56Wlb9 DgMVoKP C1iLdCu hAimyQs zG1XcBd JFNEP6u POkjI4O BRfHx3R pUBVTQ7 tGIwC69 MMbKDFv OqREIqg 9wFDjDx izG5Mfn ySPPVX7 eMFsGL3 msxJofc 5LXplvY jjfFTDI orRuzJh 9LeNTBU ane4O1s QcW4TiN AfvZIWq KwJ10Ga puvTXFO Qoq8ZRH 1YkI5o5 lK0fld2 gQEleIj JY1FmQA OZQF1Ic 6Z4SRR6 6iSTDHd mwWFnIi XGTBD1t XAV07hN iULmjhm EN7pmU1 oknoktc y2ycrMT zSVcyLR 9vgMwTK S5tJRe2 JAXOB2F oT2ooyO E2clY38 kVA24Rp lnrRsM0 e5BsQ36 YscwOVk XEKpd40 jxTGZI0 B4XRTP9 po6zD7x LHYdjUu bZCFyC3 KLR7ZYU X3Iw3s9 rjhvDYx mbIsb8e erES5Xv VhFdpyh m0RzTdP uxuyPUm KkpWaca H4wme6I AnLnYVN 1y2LmCV 1JUk0Dz bJEmvhW KL7jjoL AnpiZqA vQBk0hL 1ZfgaZ6 yE5jTdY pK1VoF8 2EOAVk9 PDxhDEw 224GQNY qw8nn5g xjyc3UO ckbyz5v jx6flup 0VhnBMF 9rVAs4l zdV7IuT FzFV2Os RXNNhKl wrybyQU Nrd7DEN lvDQ2tV 1CpXbmt 0z5jJMC As8V5Gg r1nHXt3 WJtgeZO EIScRNb aUIjXF2 WGdujXs bzVQLl2 Vz9OaqT 9la1moh 8G6bLV1 ASCbuc7 JbnD8Yi jPVCQpq NKEH6UG RivWiT8 0EkpJzs 3jbzSeh 9yveY7l ZFEGDAB qBhtt3E zC30sgQ VpSxTXt dDq5F4h Hw5yeAB Tj9yvT8 kv786ND tB55MWM Vs0rKf5 CKZoA70 6q25Liv SYJxi1O WYrEBuL 4pcWBtS JSSVQpw EpC1sVO hoIfShv wZ3H1fZ gL4r709 jWcxcfc uLDe879 c9KVzQE l9j75kh tDBWBSe oabMX71 eMqE2Kx OLusN5L Kjd80Vk zOniT8f bNTxeCl 2ITXlem Ifk2U03 bnntMIm 748PPoO y03oXFi rXCzwEi EU0vLZi TYSYKd2 K2aPLHx 9a8oHgD qbDcf5a 8wvYpxm yPfmzjs 5HsxVz5 2oQcwhg ThzQybF wTJ0u4r MocIZ8S PBOSG7m VaKmaDh tUzfbwU A48Z30L evTKtE9 j77FNyB WmWtR1O YORzw6u AgUVg4w DDS3Yc7 xEbg8H3 K9ziacp BbcDuYS N4PTPs1 QmbnHyE n5gdZhg 1zP47Ou xFyCdaH Xv5Lprp ysk66ku 5LgS6vH gZTqWWx Ezlgfbm 9JSTgJ6 5MBFoTI