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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists first discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet similar to the Earth orbiting a distant star. A study released Monday showed the presence of an essential element to maintaining life outside the solar system.
The water vapor was found in the atmosphere of the planet K2-18B, one of hundreds of planets whose size varies between Earth and Neptune. These planets are documented in a new branch of astronomy dedicated to the exploration of so-called extrasolar planets elsewhere in the Milky Way.
More than four thousand of these planets of all types and sizes were detected in the extrasolar total.
The latest discoveries have been contained in the research of a team of scientists from University College London, published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
"We found water," Ingo Waldmann, professor of astrophysics at London University College, told Reuters. The new discovery was made thanks to the observations of the Hubble Space Telescope, which analyzed the light of the star that was leaking into the atmosphere of the planet (K2-18B).
More specifically, this is the first time that scientists find water in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet gravitating around a star in the "viable zone", the distance at which the water will probably be located. liquid state above the surface of the planet.
Angelos Tsiyaras, an astronomer at London University College, said his team was focused on identifying alien planets.
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