New data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that K2-18 b, an exoplanet nearly nine times the size of Earth, could be an example of a theorized class of planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, vast liquid oceans and the potential to support life.
, according to a NASA press release published on Monday.
"Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere," Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of a paper announcing these results, said in the release. "Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.
“We have obtained the most detailed spectrum of a habitable-zone sub-Neptune to date, and this allowed us to work out the molecules that exist in its atmosphere,” Subhajit Sarkar, a member of the research team with Cardiff University, said in the release. The possible detection of DMS brings up more questions, according to researchers. On Earth, DMS plays a key role in the oceanic sulfur cycle, released most often by phytoplankton, algae and other marine bacteria. However, the detection of DMS is less robust than the evidence of methane and carbon dioxide.
Earth’s atmosphere is thick, but the elements it contains allows for specific wavelengths of light to enter while preventing others from doing so, a delicate balance that helps the planet’s surface to stay within a liveable range of warmth.
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