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