Scientists Discover Water World Planet TOI-270 Covered by Oceans, Debated by Researchers

KOMPAS.com – Scientists from the University of Cambridge, England have observed a planet far from Earth that is most likely covered by oceans.

These observations were made using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Through these observations, scientists revealed the presence of water vapor and chemical signs of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of planet TOI-270, quoted from News18, Friday (8/3/2024).

Planet TOI-270 is twice the radius of Earth and is about 70 light years away.

Researchers say the chemical composition of Planet TOI-270 is consistent with a water world with oceans stretching across the surface and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

“Ocean temperatures can reach 100 degrees Celsius or more. At high atmospheric pressure, oceans this hot can still be in liquid form, but it is not clear whether they are habitable,” said Professor Nikku Madhusudhan who led the analysis, as reported by The Guardian, Friday (8 /3/2024).

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Refuted by a team of Canadian researchers

However, the observations supported by the paper published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters were refuted by a Canadian team that carried out additional observations on the same exoplanet, known as TOI-270 d.

They detected the same atmospheric chemicals, but thought the planet was too hot for liquid water, as it may have a temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius.

Instead, it could have a rocky surface covered by a very dense atmosphere of hydrogen and water vapor.

Nevertheless, these latest observations demonstrate the amazing insights that James Webb has provided into the nature of planets outside our solar system.

This telescope captures starlight that has been filtered through the atmospheres of orbiting planets to provide a detailed breakdown of the chemical elements present.

From here, astronomers can draw a picture of the conditions on the planet’s surface and estimate the possibility that life can survive there.

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Evidence for the existence of the sea is based on the absence of ammonia

Evidence for the existence of an ocean on TOI-270 d is based on the absence of ammonia, which according to basic chemistry should occur naturally in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

Ammonia dissolves very easily in water so it will run out in the atmosphere if there is an ocean beneath it.

“One interpretation is that this is an ‘ocean’ world, that is, a sea of ​​water under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere,” Madhusudhan said.

He said that conditions on that planet were very different from Earth.

TOI-270 d is vertically locked, meaning one side is permanently facing its star, while the other side is bathed in eternal darkness and creates extreme temperature contrasts.

“The ocean will become very hot during the day. Meanwhile, the night side has the potential to become a habitable place,” said Madhusudhan.

However, there would be an extremely harsh atmosphere with pressure tens or hundreds of times that of the Earth’s surface and steam rolling in the ocean.

The waters will likely reach depths of tens to hundreds of kilometers, with high-pressure icy seabed and a rocky core beneath.

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Professor Bjorn Benneke from the University of Montreal, Canada has made additional observations of the planet and questioned the “ocean world” hypothesis.

“The temperature in our view is too hot for water to be liquid,” he said, adding that the atmosphere appears to contain quite large amounts of water vapor.

Benneke estimates that, at the surface, temperatures could reach 4,000 degrees Celsius with water in a supercritical condition, where the distinction between liquid and gas becomes blurred.

“It’s almost like a thick hot liquid,” he said.

Both teams detected carbon disulfide, which is linked to biological processes on Earth, but can also be produced by other sources.

However, there was no sign of another biosignature molecule, dimethyl sulfide (DMS).

“We cannot link (carbon disulfide) to biological activity,” Madhusudhan said.

“In a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, it is relatively easy to make it. But if we can measure this unique molecule, then we will be able to measure habitable planets in the future,” he added.

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2024-03-10 05:00:00
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