Scientists identify steamy ‘waterworld’ planet
An astronaut attempting to visit recently discovered planet GJ1214b would land in hot water - literally, United States scientists say.
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics said they have identified a new kind of planet, dominated not by rock, gas or other common materials - but water.
The planet is “a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere”, they said in a statement after scrutinising the planet with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
“GJ1214b is like no planet we know of,” astronomer Zachary Berta said.
“A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water.
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DUDE. This is awesome. I really didn’t think a planet like this would be found any time soon.
I wonder what lives there, if anything? As I’ve said plenty of times before, if there’s liquid water, there’s a much higher chance of life. Curious!
It’s also worthy to note that they’ve “never found a planet like this” before. It’s just another bit of evidence speaking to the diversity of the universe and the variety of things that are possible in it.
What, dare I say, will they find next?
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