{"id":11295,"date":"2024-04-27T19:37:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T19:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=11295"},"modified":"2024-04-27T19:37:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T19:37:44","slug":"nasa-discovered-a-planet-twice-as-big-as-earth-with-a-gas-that-is-only-produced-by-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=11295","title":{"rendered":"NASA discovered a planet twice as big as Earth with a gas that is \u2018only produced by life\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA\u2019s James Webb Telescope picked up a \u2018possible detection\u2019 of a molecule which \u2018on Earth is only produced by life\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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An exoplanet has been found by NASA which is \u20188.6 times\u2019 as big as Earth with a gas present that\u2019s produced mainly by life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from\u00a0Europe\u2019s Spaceport<\/a>\u00a0in French Guiana in South America and last year, it made a very exciting discovery.<\/p>\n

The planet<\/h2>\n

An\u00a0exoplanet<\/a>\u00a0called K2-18 b \u2013 also known as EPIC 201912552 b \u2013 orbits the red dwarf K2-18 in what\u00a0NASA<\/a>\u00a0says is a \u2018habitable zone\u2019.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s located 124 light years away from earth and is around 2.6 times the radius of\u00a0Earth<\/a>\u00a0and 8.6 times the mass of Earth.<\/p>\n

It was first discovered by NASA\u2019s Kepler space telescope which launched in 2009, however, during the Webb Telescope\u2019s mission, the planet\u2019s atmosphere was looked into more closely.<\/p>\n

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The exoplanet is known as K12-18 b (NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI))<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The findings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last year, it was discovered K2-18b has a \u2018presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide\u2019 \u2013 NASA\u00a0revealed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The discovery built on top of previous findings which suggested the planet could be a \u2018Hycean exoplanet\u2019 which is \u2018one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese initial Webb observations also provided a possible detection of a molecule called\u00a0dimethyl sulfide (DMS)<\/a>,\u201d NASA added.<\/p>\n

But does this actually mean there\u2019s life on the planet?<\/p>\n

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\"Atmosphere<\/div>\n

Atmosphere on exoplanet K2-18 b (NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI))<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Signs of life?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Well, NASA explains: \u201cThe abundance of methane and carbon dioxide, and shortage of ammonia, support the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in K2-18 b.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese initial\u00a0Webb observations\u00a0<\/a>also provided a possible detection of a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS). On Earth, this is only produced by life. The bulk of the DMS in Earth\u2019s atmosphere is emitted from phytoplankton in\u00a0marine environments<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, NASA also notes the planet\u2019s large size could indicate it isn\u2019t habitable to life forms as the planet\u2019s \u2018interior likely contains a large mantle of high-pressure ice\u2019 or it\u2019s possible its ocean is \u2018too hot to be habitable or liquid\u2019.<\/p>\n

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\"Does<\/div>\n

Does the presence of the gases mean there\u2019s life on the planet? (Getty Stock Images\/ David Wall)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

University of Cambridge astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan said: \u201cOur findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday (26 April), the Webb telescope fully turned its attention towards K2-18b in a bid to further investigate the signs of potential life, observing the planet for eight hours, The Times\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Madhusudhan resolved: \u201cUpcoming Webb observations should be able to confirm if DMS is indeed present in the atmosphere of K2-18 b at significant levels.<\/p>\n

\u201c[\u2026] Our ultimate goal is the identification of life on a habitable exoplanet, which would transform our understanding of our place in the universe. Our findings are a promising step towards a deeper understanding of Hycean worlds in this quest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s James Webb Telescope picked up a \u2018possible detection\u2019 of a molecule which \u2018on Earth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":90,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}