Astronomers make unprecedented discovery in search for water in space

 

Astronomers make unprecedented discovery in search for water in space

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have detected water molecules in the atmosphere of a small, blazing-hot exoplanet 97 light-years from Earth. The planet, named GJ 9827d, is about twice Earth’s diameter, and it’s the smallest exoplanet found to have water vapor in its atmosphere, according to a new study.

Water is essential for life as we know it, but the planet is unlikely to host any type of life due to searing temperatures that would turn a water-rich atmosphere into scorching steam. The astronomers have yet to uncover the true nature of this unusual world’s atmosphere, but the revelation paves the way for further investigation as they seek to understand the origins of planets beyond our solar system.

The findings appeared in a report published Thursday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. “Water on a planet this small is a landmark discovery,” said study coauthor Laura Kreidberg, managing director of the atmospheric physics of exoplanets department at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, in a statement. “It pushes closer than ever to characterizing truly Earth-like worlds.”

Yet the planet reaches temperatures of 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), making it a steamy, inhospitable world that’s as hot as Venus. “This would be the first time that we can directly show through an atmospheric detection, that these planets with water-rich atmospheres can actually exist around other stars,” said study coauthor Björn Benneke, professor at the University of Montreal’s Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, in a statement. “This is an important step toward determining the prevalence and diversity of atmospheres on rocky planets.”