[The Epoch Times, 20 dicembre 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Linda compiled a report) According to NASA research using the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes, two distant planets may be made of water. They are unlike any planet in the solar system.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion LaboratoryPress releasethese two “water worldis surrounding ared dwarforbit, located in the constellation Lyra, 218 light-years from Earth. Red dwarfs are the smallest and coldest type of star.
Published December 15 inNature‧AstronomyThe study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, found that the two planets could be composed mainly of water. by the University of MontréalexoplanetA research team led by Institute doctoral student Caroline Piaulet used NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes to observe the distant planetary system.
This planetary system is known as Kepler-138 because it is within the field of view of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Researchers already know of three stars in the Kepler-138 systemexoplanet(Kepler-138b, Kepler-138c, Kepler-138d), but it has only recently been discovered that two of them may be made of water.
Scientists have not directly detected water on the exoplanets Kepler-138c and Kepler-138d. Instead, they modeled the sizes and masses of the planets for comparison.
When they compared the planet to the model, they found that a significant fraction of its volume, up to half, should be made up of materials lighter than rock but heavier than hydrogen or helium. NASA said it was probably water.
“We previously thought planets slightly larger than Earth were larger spheres of metal and rock, like enlarged versions of Earth, which is why they’ve been called super-Earths,” said study co-author, University of Montreal. said astrophysics professor Björn Benneke at the launch. “However, it has now been shown that these two planets, Kepler-138c ed, are qualitatively very different and that a substantial portion of their entire volume may consist of water.”
“This is so far about thewater worldWater worlds are a class of planets that astronomers have long believed should theoretically exist,” Benneker continued.
The high temperatures on these planets mean they can be enveloped in atmospheres made of water vapor, according to NASA.
“Kepler-138d’s atmosphere is likely to be hotter than the boiling point of water, and we expect the planet to have a thick vapor atmosphere,” Piolet said in the release. “It’s just that under this vapor atmosphere there may be high pressure liquid water, and there may also be another phase of high pressure water, called a supercritical fluid.” ◇#
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei
