Greek lead astronomer finds water on exoplanet twice the size of Earth

An artist's impression of K2-18b, the only super-Earth exoplanet known to host both water and temperatures that could support life. UCL researchers used archive data from 2016 and 2017 captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and developed open-source algorithms to analyse the starlight filtered through K2-18b’s atmosphere. The results revealed the molecular signature of water vapour, also indicating the presence of hydrogen and helium in the planet’s atmosphere. Photo: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

13 September 2019 2:01pm

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Astronomers found water vapour in the atmosphere of a potentially inhabitable planet which is twice the size and eight times the mass of Earth.

The study’s lead author, Greek-born Angelos Tsiaras, presented the exciting findings in the journal Nature Astronomy.

This is the first time that scientists have been able to detect water in the atmosphere of a smaller-sized planet orbiting in the star’s habitable zone, as previously water had been detected in the atmospheres of massive super-hot Jupiter-like gas giants.

The University College London report describes the conditions on the planet known as K2-18 b.

Dr Tsiaras described the finding as “incredibly exciting” and said: “It is significantly heavier and it has a different atmospheric composition. However it brings us closer to answering the fundamental question: Is the Earth unique?”

READ MORE: A journey in astronomy