The First Hycean World? JWST Turns to K2-18 b | Exoplanet Radio ep 38
The James Webb Space Telescope has completed observations of an exoplanet that may contain an ocean-covered surface underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. This discovery provides a fascinating glimpse into a planet unlike anything in our Solar System, and raises interesting prospects about potentially habitable worlds elsewhere in the Universe.
The exoplanet is called K2-18 b, and it's located about 120 light-years away from us in the constellation Leo. It is bigger than Earth, but not as big as Neptune, putting this exoplanet in a class called sub-Neptunes, one of the most common types of exoplanets we’ve found. It orbits a cool dwarf star called K2-18 in the habitable zone, which means it could have liquid water on its surface. But what's really amazing is that Webb has detected *methane* and *carbon dioxide* in its atmosphere. These are carbon-bearing molecules that could indicate the presence of life, or at least some interesting chemistry.
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