For the first time in research history: scientists have discovered water on a planet where life is possible

Scientists have discovered water on a potentially inhabited planet, but for a complete analysis, scientists will need another 10 years. Writes about this with the BBC.

Фото: Depositphotos

Astronomers first discovered water in the atmosphere of the planet K2-18b, revolving around its star in the so-called habitable zone. Moreover, there seems to be a lot of water on the planet.

The water found on the K2-18b in combination with a favorable temperature means that there can be life on the planet.

New space telescopes in the next 10 years, scientists say, will be able to determine whether the gases contained in the K2-18b atmosphere are produced by living organisms.

"A Mind-Blowing Discovery"

Professor Giovanna Tinetti of University College London, who led the study, calls the discovery “mind-blowing.”

“This is the first time we have discovered water on a planet located in the habitable zone, where the temperature allows for the presence of life,” she says.

Computer simulations suggest that up to 50% of the planet’s atmosphere consists of water.

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This planet is only twice the size of Earth, its temperature - between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius - allows water to remain in a liquid state.

“This discovery brings us closer to answering a fundamental question: Is the Earth unique?” says Dr. Angelos Tsiaras, who participated in the study.

Conditions on K2-18b may be livable, but it is now impossible to confirm this hypothesis.

111 light years to Earth

The planet is located 111 light years from Earth, it is too far to launch a probe there.

The only thing that remains is to wait for a new generation of space telescopes to appear in the 2020s, which will be able to analyze the composition of gases in the atmosphere of K2-18b and determine whether any of them are produced by living organisms, says study participant Dr. Ingo Waldmann.

“This is one of the main questions in science. We have always wanted to know if we are alone in the Universe. Over the next 10 years, we will know whether there are chemical elements in the planet's atmosphere produced by living things,” he says.

Super earth

This approach, however, is fraught with certain difficulties. First of all, astronomers do not have a consensus about the presence of which particular gases may indicate the presence of life on the planet.

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The planet K2-18b was discovered in 2015. It is a super-earth, that is, it has a mass in the range between the Earth and Neptune, and is suitable for spectroscopic studies.

The planet is in the red dwarf system located in the constellation Leo.

Water was also found on other planets, but there the temperature was either too low or too high to sustain life.

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