Exoplanet K2-18b
In an exciting discovery, water vapour has for the first time been detected in the atmosphere of a super-Earth with habitable temperatures.
Researchers from University College London used data captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to analyse the starlight filtered through K2-18b’s atmosphere.
K2-18b is eight times the mass of Earth and is now the only exoplanet known to have both water and temperatures that could support life.
This exoplanet is 110 light years from Earth and orbits a red dwarf star.
Given the high level of activity of this red dwarf, K2-18b may be more hostile than Earth and is likely to be exposed to more radiation.
The next generation of space telescopes, including the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, will be able to characterise atmospheres of exoplanets in more detail.
This Hubblecast Light was translated by Bethany Downer