Astronomers have discovered a nearby exoplanet that may prove to be the first such world covered in water. Will it contain alien life?
Planets that orbit stars outside of the solar system are known as exoplanets, and it is a relatively new area of research. The first exoplanet was discovered as recently as 1992.
The snappily named TOI-1452b is slightly larger and more massive than Earth, located about 100 light years away from our planet in the Draco constellation. In a paper published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers from the University of Montreal determine that the mass of the planet suggests it is largely made up of something less dense than rock, but denser than gas - a potential sign of a global ocean.
“TOI-1452b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date,” University of Montreal astrophysics PhD student Charles Cadieux said in a statement. “Its radius and mass suggest a much lower density than what one would expect for a planet that is basically made up of metal and rock, like Earth.”
To find out for sure whether TOI-1452b is watery, scientists will need to peer at it by using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope. Fortunately, the planet is a perfect candidate for observation - close enough to Earth to be easily seen and located in a part of the sky that the telescope can view year-round. Researchers are aiming to book time on Webb to probe TOI-1452b as soon as they can.
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