JWST Might Have Imaged a Hycean World for the First Time, With a Hydrogen-Rich Atmosphere and a Deep Planet-Wide Water Ocean

Astronomers have directed JWST to examine the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18 b, which orbits a cool dwarf star about 120 light-years from Earth. The planet is 8.6 times as massive as Earth, and the observations have revealed methane and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. This opens up the intriguing possibility that this exoplanet is an example of a theorized "hycean world," a planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean covering its surface that extends deeper than anything we have on Earth.

#exoplanets #hyceanworld

https://www.universetoday.com/163123/jwst-might-have-imaged-a-hycean-world-for-the-first-time-with-a-hydrogen-rich-atmosphere-and-a-deep-planet-wide-water-ocean/

JWST Might Have Imaged a Hycean World for the First Time, with a Hydrogen-Rich Atmosphere and a Deep Planet-Wide Water Ocean

Astronomers have directed JWST to examine the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18 b, which orbits a cool dwarf star about 120 light-years from Earth. The planet is 8.6 times as massive as Earth, and the observations have revealed methane and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. This opens up the intriguing possibility that this exoplanet is an example of a theorized "hycean world," a planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean covering its surface that extends deeper than anything we have on Earth.

#exoplanets #hyceanworld

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_discovers_methane_and_carbon_dioxide_in_atmosphere_of_K2-18_b

Several Strange Planetary Discoveries Of the Last Few Months - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nGP4oIG5i8

#Astronomy #Cosmology #Exoplanets

How NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory will search exoplanets for signs of alien life https://www.space.com/nasa-habitable-worlds-observatory-exoplanets-alien-life 👽 #Astrobiology #AlienWorlds #AlienLife #Extraterrestrial #Exoplanet #Exoplanets
{📷©NASA/Robert Lea}

TESS Finds a Planet That Takes 482 Days to Orbit, the Widest it's Seen so Far

It's not surprising that hot-jupiters were some of the first exoplanets discovered by astronomers. These can orbit in just a few days, giving plenty of chances to observe transits - they're the low-hanging fruit of exoplanets. Planets with vast orbits are much more challenging since it can take multiple years to confirm their existence. Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet that takes 482 days to orbit its star, the most extended orbital period found by TESS so far. This would be between the orbits of Earth and Mars if it were in the Solar System.

#exoplanets

https://www.universetoday.com/163044/tess-finds-a-planet-that-takes-482-days-to-orbit-the-widest-its-seen-so-far/

I just toured the galaxy and it’s fantastic!! There are rogue planets! 🤩

#NASA #exoplanets #exploration #travel #imagination #science #frontiers

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/exoplanet-travel-bureau/

Minus 5 points for writing "Distance From Earth: 1,999 light-years" and not "Space: 1999"...

Current journey time to Kepler-589 b: 53.7m years

#exoplanets #SpaceIsBig

https://botsin.space/@exoplanets/111003033245798440

Journey time to AU Mic c: 859,000y

Practically a day-trip!

AU Microscopii c is so local, the next advanced civilization along probably doesn't realize we're not in the same system... :-) We could probably get there while we still had ten fingers and only two eyes... 🙂

#exoplanets #SpaceIsBig

https://botsin.space/@exoplanets/110997352913527309

If Earth Was an Exoplanet, JWST Would Know There's an Intelligent Civilization Here

JWST is the most powerful instrument astronomers have to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, looking for trace gases that might indicate life on another world. What if Earth was an exoplanet orbiting a nearby star? What could JWST learn about our planet? In a new study, astronomers took observations of Earth from various spacecraft and then simulated what JWST would see if it got our home planet in the crosshairs. The telescope could detect various chemicals, from water vapor to methane, but it could also sense the presence of chlorofluorocarbons resulting from our industrial infrastructure.

#exoplanets #jwst

https://www.universetoday.com/162998/if-earth-was-an-exoplanet-jwst-would-know-theres-an-intelligent-civilization-here/

Astronomers Find a "Thermometer Molecule" that Only Appears When a Planet is Between 1,200 and 2,000 Kelvin

Astronomers use spectroscopy to reveal the chemicals present in a planet's atmosphere. One intriguing chemical is chromium hydride (CrH), which can only appear when the upper atmosphere of a world is between 1,200 and 2,000 Kelvin. It was previously only seen in cool stars and brown dwarfs, but now astronomers have found it in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-31b. Astronomers think there could be other temperature-sensitive molecules that could act as natural thermometers to help independently measure the temperature of an exoplanet.

#exoplanets

https://www.universetoday.com/162992/astronomers-find-a-thermometer-molecule-that-only-appears-when-a-planet-is-between-1200-and-2000-kelvin/

A Neptune-Sized Exoplanet is Denser Than Steel. The Result of a Catastrophic Collision?

Of the thousands of exoplanets discovered so far, none match the bizarre characteristics of TOI-1835b. It's as large as Neptune but has the density of steel, meaning it's almost entirely made up of rock and metal, not the ice we see in Uranus and Neptune. How could a planet get this way? Astronomers propose that it results from a catastrophic collision, where two giant planets collided so quickly that the lighter atmosphere and ice were thrown off into space, leaving the dense planetary core behind.

#exoplanets

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2023/august/new-planet.html

If Earth Was an Exoplanet, JWST Would Know There's an Intelligent Civilization Here

JWST is the most powerful instrument astronomers have to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, looking for trace gases that might indicate life on another world. What if Earth was an exoplanet orbiting a nearby star? What could JWST learn about our planet? In a new study, astronomers took observations of Earth from various spacecraft and then simulated what JWST would see if it got our home planet in the crosshairs. The telescope could detect various chemicals, from water vapor to methane, but it could also sense the presence of chlorofluorocarbons resulting from our industrial infrastructure.

#exoplanets #jwst

http://arxiv.org/abs/2308.14804

Astronomers Find a "Thermometer Molecule" that Only Appears When a Planet is Between 1,200 and 2,000 Kelvin

Astronomers use spectroscopy to reveal the chemicals present in a planet's atmosphere. One intriguing chemical is chromium hydride (CrH), which can only appear when the upper atmosphere of a world is between 1,200 and 2,000 Kelvin. It was previously only seen in cool stars and brown dwarfs, but now astronomers have found it in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-31b. Astronomers think there could be other temperature-sensitive molecules that could act as natural thermometers to help independently measure the temperature of an exoplanet.

#exoplanets

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/08/thermometer-molecule-confirmed-exoplanet-wasp-31b

Ars Technica: Non-gas giant has 73 times Earth’s mass, bewildering its discoverers https://arstechnica.com/?p=1964288 #Tech #arstechnica #IT #Technology #exoplanets #astronomy #Science

T'S PAPER DAY!

Seidel & Prinoth et al. has just been accepted for publication in A&A and you can find it on arXiv already today: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.13622 ✨

Let us tell you a bit more 👇🏼🧵

@JuliaVSeidel

#PaperThread #paper #exoplanets #observations #publication

TESS Has Found Thousands of Possible Exoplanets. Which Ones Should JWST Study?

JWST has demonstrated how well it can analyze the atmosphere of exoplanets, revealing carbon dioxide, water vapor, and sulfur compounds. The hope, of course, is that it might be able to find evidence of biosignatures. Astronomers have found over 5,000 confirmed exoplanets, and TESS has turned up 4,000 candidate exoplanets. With this enormous catalog of confirmed and potential planets, which are high priorities that JWST should be pointed at?

#exoplanets #jwst

https://www.universetoday.com/162906/tess-has-found-thousands-of-possible-exoplanets-which-ones-should-jwst-study/

Current journey time to Kepler-555 b: 85.2m years.

#StarTrek journey time (at Warp 9): 2.1 years.

#exoplanets #SpaceIsBig

https://botsin.space/@exoplanets/110903907526248584

An exoplanet is getting vaporized but is trying to hide it - Enlarge / Artist's conception of the atmosphere being blasted off an ex... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1960935 #exoplanets #astronomy #science #hubble

A “Jupiter” Hotter than the Sun

https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/space-physics/%E2%80%9Cjupiter%E2%80%9D-hotter-sun

Search over 2,000 astronomy and space news releases at www.stars-n-stuff.com/news-stories

#astronomy #space #science #news #AmateurAstronomy #stargazing #exoplanets

Image: Own, via Night Cafe Studio

New study suggests some exoplanets orbiting red dwarfs may be habitable after all https://phys.org/news/2023-08-exoplanets-orbiting-red-dwarfs-habitable.html 🪐 #Exoplanet #Exoplanets #Astrobiology #AlienLife #AlienWorlds #AlienLife