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Universe composed of water? Large exoplanet's environment contains methane and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Posted on 22 September, 2023 by Charlotte Lee

Universe composed of water? Large exoplanet's environment contains methane and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Hubble Space Telescope observations provided the first look at this habitable-zone exoplanet, revealing details about its atmosphere that led to further research that fundamentally altered our understanding of the system.
K2-18 b is located in the constellation Leo, 120 light-years from Earth, and orbits the cold dwarf star K2-18 within the habitable zone. K2-18 b is one of the many exoplanets that are completely unique to our solar system because of its intermediate size between that of Earth and Neptune. Due to the lack of analogous nearby planets, the nature of these'sub-Neptunes'' atmospheres is a hotly contested topic among astronomers.
Some scientists have high hopes for finding signs of life on exoplanets, and the possibility that sub-Neptune K2-18 b is a Hycean exoplanet is interesting.
Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the publication revealing these results, said, "Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere." The larger Hycean worlds are much more suitable to atmospheric observations, although smaller rocky planets have traditionally been the primary focus of the hunt for life on exoplanets.
Methane and carbon dioxide are plentiful, whereas ammonia is scarce, lending credence to the idea that K2-18 b has a water ocean beneath its hydrogen-rich atmosphere. These preliminary Webb observations may have also shown the presence of a chemical known as dimethyl sulphide (DMS). Only living things on Earth are capable of making this. Phytoplankton in marine areas are responsible for releasing the vast majority of DMS into Earth's atmosphere.
Scientist Savvas Constantinou of Cambridge University noted that their findings were based on only two observations of K2-18 b, but that many more were on the way. Accordingly, "this means our work here is but an early demonstration of what Webb can observe in habitable-zone exoplanets."
The team's findings will be published in the Letters section of The Astrophysical Journal.
To further confirm these findings and shed new light on the environmental conditions on K2-18 b, the team plans to perform follow-up research using the telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) spectrograph.
If life were found on a habitable exoplanet, "it would transform our understanding of our place in the universe," Madhusudhan said. According to the authors, "our findings are a promising step towards a deeper understanding of Hycean worlds in this quest."
 

Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Centre contributed the materials used in this blog post. Editing for clarity and length may occur.

 

Today In History

Here are some interesting facts ih history happened on 17 May.

  1. Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi - 1st to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface
  2. 24 merchants form NY Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street
  3. Lewis & Clark begin exploration of La Purchase
  4. Papal States annexed by France
  5. Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden (Natl Day)
  6. Bohemian Club incorporated
  7. 1st Kentucky Derby run at Churchill Downs Winner was Aristides
  8. Camp Merritt established in Presidio
  9. Pres Harding opens (via telephone) 1st Valencia Orange Show
  10. Radio quiz show `Information Please!' debuts on NBC Blue Network
  11. 1st sports telecast - Columbia vs Princeton - College baseball
  12. Nazis occupied Brussels Belgium
  13. Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Ed reversed 1896 `separate but equal' Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
  14. 1st atomic reactor system to be patented - JW Flora - Canoga Park CA
  15. Marin County withdraws from BART district
  16. European Space Research Org launches 1st satellite
  17. Senate Watergate Committee began its hearings
  18. Islanders score 5 power play goals against Flyers in a playoff
  19. Israel & Lebanon sign a peace treaty
  20. Oilers 2-Isles 4 - Stanley Cup- Isles win cup 4-0 (15-5)