Like the USS Enterprise, the James Webb Space Telescope reveal secrets about new worlds.
New observations by the world-renowned telescope has revealed a planet covered in a deep boiling water ocean – also known as a hycean world.
The water world, TOI-270 d, is a sub-Neptune distant exoplanet that resides around 70 light years away.
The observations of the planet revealed water vapour and chemical signatures of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – a chemical mix which is consistent with what would be expected from a water world and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge say that although the planet may have a surface that is covered with an ocean, they do not envisage a seascape.
‘The ocean could be upwards of 100 degrees or more’, said Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, who led the analysis.
The team says that an ocean this hot could still be liquid if the atmospheric pressure …