2023-09-12 07:06:57
Scientists at NASA have discovered an exoplanet with the possibility of a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a surface covered in oceans. K2-18b, an exoplanet with a mass 8.6 times the mass of Earth, was examined with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA explained that the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide was interesting, as some astronomers believed that these worlds were promising environments to search for evidence of life. “Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere,” said Nico Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper announcing the results. The abundance of methane and carbon dioxide and the lack of ammonia supported the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean under the hydrogen-rich atmosphere on K2-18b.
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