The Briefing Room

General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Space => Topic started by: Gefn on September 13, 2023, 12:51:45 pm

Title: This planet light-years from Earth may be covered in ocean, NASA says
Post by: Gefn on September 13, 2023, 12:51:45 pm

Scientists have made a new discovery that hints at a possible water ocean on a massive planet many lights-years away from Earth, though it is not clear if it could support life, according to NASA.

Researchers made the announcement after examining data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, gazing more than 100 light-years from Earth at an exoplanet — or a planet beyond our solar system — in the constellation Leo that goes by the name K2-18 b and is 8.6 times as massive as our planet.


The astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, found methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of K2-18 b, results that are “consistent with an ocean-covered surface underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere,” the university said.

“The discovery provides a glimpse into a planet unlike anything else in our Solar System, and raises interesting prospects about potentially habitable worlds elsewhere in the Universe,” it said Monday.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/this-planet-light-years-from-earth-may-be-covered-in-ocean-nasa-says/ar-AA1gBEJN

Title: Re: This planet light-years from Earth may be covered in ocean, NASA says
Post by: mystery-ak on September 17, 2023, 09:59:14 pm

NASA detects molecule on another planet that can only be produced by life
The planet, K2-18b, is about 120 light years from Earth
By Michael Lee Fox News
Published September 17, 2023 12:02pm EDT

NASA scientists have detected evidence of possible life on a planet over 100 light years away.

The space agency's James Webb Space Telescope discovered a molecule called dimethyl sulphide, or DMS, on the distant planet, which on Earth can only be produced by life, according to a report from the BBC.

"On Earth, DMS is only produced by life. The bulk of it in Earth's atmosphere is emitted from phytoplankton in marine environments," University of Cambridge Profesor Nikku Madhusudhan, who led the research, told the BBC.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nasa-detects-molecule-another-planet-only-produced-by-life

Title: Re: This planet light-years from Earth may be covered in ocean, NASA says
Post by: Hoodat on September 17, 2023, 10:07:05 pm

Quote

The space agency's James Webb Space Telescope discovered a molecule called dimethyl sulphide, or DMS, on the distant planet, which on Earth can only be produced by life, according to a report from the BBC.

That's funny since chemical companies sell it.

Title: Re: This planet light-years from Earth may be covered in ocean, NASA says
Post by: Wingnut on September 17, 2023, 10:10:36 pm

A fisherman's paradise.   Oh look, another bite.