Scientists have spotted for the first time the water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet similar to the Earth that climbs around a distant star. A study released Wednesday suggests evidence of an essential element of life outside the solar system. The water vapor was found in the atmosphere of K2-18B, one of hundreds of Earth planets at the size of 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 4000 planets of all types and sizes have been detected outside the solar system. The latest discovery was contained in the research of a team of scientists from University College London published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The published study has shown that the general climate of the planet is hot and that its atmosphere contains water vapor, which looks to a large extent to the general atmosphere of the planet.
"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). Specifically, this is the first time scientists have discovered water in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet gravitating around a star in the "habitable zone" – the distance that water is likely to be at the liquid state above the planet.
Angelos Tsiyaras, an astronomer at London University College, said his team was focused on identifying alien planets.
In recent years, scientists have been able to discover a large number of planets and orbits in the orbit of stars located outside of our world, far from the planet, because it is impossible to find them. to reach the fastest spacecraft currently available. It is also difficult to see these planets in detail, so researchers are working in many ways to identify these worlds.
Scientists use telescopes that can explore the climate of discovered planets and identify their constituents. But to understand all the data collected through these telescopes, researchers must develop detailed and complex models to explain the constituents and characteristics of each planet, which were made by the authors of the new study.
By comparing the constituents and climate of new planets with the Earth's climate and the characteristics of oceans and water masses, scientists were surprised to find that the conditions of the Earth were not the same. best of its kind, because it is possible that life is better in other worlds.
Reuters
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