Life could be possible on these planets
Life could not only have originated on earth-like planets. (Image: University of Cambridge)
Researchers have identified a new type of planet – Hycean worlds – on which they suspect extraterrestrial life. The planets are huge, wet and hot.
So far, researchers have looked for evidence of extraterrestrial life on earth-like rock planets. The search is currently particularly intensive on Mars. Now a new type of potentially habitable planet has come under the spotlight, very different from Earth. Astronomers at the University of Cambridge assume that life is possible on heavenly bodies called Hycean worlds.
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Planets with ocean and hydrogen atmosphere
In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, the researchers write that the planets they studied are 1.6 to 2.6 times larger and heavier than Earth. In addition, they are completely covered by an ocean and have a dense atmosphere of hydrogen. And: It is much warmer there than here, namely around 200 degrees Celsius in the atmosphere, as it is at Gizmodo is called.
The researchers: around the astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan declaredthat on the Hycean worlds, the presence of liquid water in particular could have enabled life to arise. In addition, the temperatures on the surface of the water and the air pressure are similar to those on earth. The hydrogen-rich atmosphere also has the advantage that it keeps harmful radiation away from the planet’s surface.
K2-18b as the most promising candidate
It is calculated with microbial life. The researchers doubt that more complex forms of life would be possible. With the findings recorded in the study, the number of life-friendly planets would in any case increase significantly. Astrobiologists now have the option to search for specific biosignatures. The Hycean worlds are not so rare, they occur in the Milky Way, for example. According to the researchers, the most promising candidate is: inside one Planet called K2-18b.
