2024-07-13 06:00:09
An exoplanet dubbed LHS-1140b has scientists intrigued. Located 50 light-years from Earth, this planet might have an unusual feature: a surface resembling an eye, with an ocean surrounded by ice, opening the possibility of harboring life.
Credit: BENOIT GOUGEON, UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
Discovered in 2017, LHS-1140b was initially thought to be a “mini-Neptune” with a dense atmosphere of water, methane and ammonia. However, thanks to recent observations of space telescope James Webb, scientists now have clues suggesting a planet that is icier and wetter than previously thought, which might mean it is potentially habitable. Charles Cadieux, an astrophysicist at the University of Montreal, explains that of all the known temperate exoplanets, LHS-1140b may be the best candidate to indirectly confirm the presence of liquid water on the surface of an alien world beyond our Solar System. This discovery would be a major step in the research habitable exoplanets.
LHS-1140b is regarding 1.73 times larger and 5.6 times more massive than Earth. Due to a gravitational lock with its host star, a red dwarf cooler than our Sun, one side of the planet always remains oriented toward the star, creating a potentially habitable zone where temperatures can reach 20 degrees Celsius.
To study LHS-1140b, the researchers used the James Webb’s slitless spectrograph, which can analyze the planet’s composition by observing light from its star passing through its atmosphere. Evidence of nitrogen, a key component of Earth’s atmosphere, was detected, ruling out a rocky planet or mini-Neptune in favor of an ice-covered world.
Although most of the planet is likely frozen, the side facing the star might provide conditions favorable to life, with temperatures high enough to sustain a liquid ocean. René Doyon, a physicist at the University of Montréalstresses that confirmation of a nitrogen-rich atmosphere will still require one to three years of additional observations.
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