In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers named the new type of exoplanets hycean planets, hot, ocean-covered planets rich in hydrogen, which they believe are much more abundant and more observable than Earth-like planets.
Exoplanets are planets orbiting extraterrestrial stars outside the Solar System. In search of extraterrestrial life, astronomers are looking for planets that are similar in size, mass, and similar in temperature and atmospheric composition to our planet.
“Hycean planets are opening a whole new path in research on extraterrestrial life,” quoted Nikku Madhusudhan, head of research, in a statement on the university’s website.
Many of the hycean planet candidates identified by the researchers have larger and warmer atmospheres than Earth, but have characteristics that allow for the existence of large oceans necessary for microbial life, similar to those found in the most extreme aquatic environments on Earth.
On these planets it is possible to have a much wider habitable zone, called the Goldilock Zone, than on other planets like Earth.
Since the discovery of the first exoplanet about 30 years ago, thousands of planets have been discovered outside the Solar System. The vast majority of these are planets between the size of Earth and Neptune and are often called super Earth or mini Neptune, they are mostly rock or ice giants with a hydrogen rich atmosphere, or between the two.
Most mini Neptunes are 1.6 times larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune, but too large to have an Earth-like rock interior. Previous research has shown that the temperature and pressure on these planets under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere is too high for life to form.
Examining the K2-18b mini Neptune, Madhusudhan’s research team found that these balls could be lived under certain conditions. This has led to the study of the broad characteristics of planets and stars under the conditions under which life exists.
Hycean planets have been found to be 2.6 times larger than Earth, with atmospheric temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius, but the conditions for the existence of the oceans are similar to promote microbial life in the Earth’s oceans. Among these planets, there may also be those where living conditions are only possible on the constant night side and there may be cold hycean worlds that receive little radiation from their day.
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