![]() "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."Ī hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and rolling oceans of liquid water – these are the key features of a Hycean world, first theorized by a team of researchers including Madhusudhan in 2021. "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. ![]() ![]() Scientists have known about K2-18 b for a while, with initial observations taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, but these new observations taken with the James Webb Telescope have provided details that astronomers had previously only wondered about. NASA says any planet that lies outside of our own solar system is considered an exoplanet. It is categorized as a sub-Neptune, a class of planets that are between the size of Earth and Neptune and common in the universe, although not in our solar system. K2-18 b is an exoplanet orbiting a dwarf star roughly 120 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Leo. Observations taken by the telescope detected the presence of carbon-bearing molecules such as methane and carbon-dioxide, according to a NASA press release published on Monday.Īstronomers also picked up signs of a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) – which, on Earth, is only produced by living things. The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App.
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