Newly discovered exoplanet has more water than Earth

composition shows the planet orbiting its star / / Credit: NASA via BBC

Astronomers have confirmed that the exoplanet GJ 1214b, found in 2009, consists largely of water, like the Earth. Called "Super Earth" by scientists, water and high temperatures of the surface can create an environment conducive to life.

The planet (it's outside our solar system) GJ 1214b is relatively close to Earth, located 40 light-years away. It is larger than the planet and less than giant as Jupiter. Through observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers were able to study details.

The Hubble telescope can capture images of other galaxies / / Credit: NASA

It has been found, for example, that this planet is 2.7 times the diameter of the earth mass and an almost 7-fold. A complete órbitra around a dwarf red each 38 hours, at a distance of 2 million miles. By calculating the density of the planet, the scientists could also prove that he has more water than land and that its surface temperature is about 230 ° C.

"This planet is unlike anything we know. The high temperatures suggest that exotic materials can exist there, like 'hot ice' and 'superfluid water', "said astronomer Zachory Berta, the study coordinator.

Scientists speculate that the GJ1214b started to form far from its star, where the ice was abundant, and then approached, through the zone where surface temperatures would be similar to Earth.

Via BBC