The temperate exoplanet could actually be habitable and either covered in ice or have an atmosphere and liquid ocean.
Instead, their research, which was published inThe Astrophysical Journal Letters, points to a potential nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
Interestingly, the data also shows that the planet is less dense than expected.
Temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b may be a world completely covered in ice (left) similar to Jupiter’s moon Europa or may be an ice world with a liquid substellar ocean and a cloudy atmosphere (center). LHS 1140 b is 1.7 times the size of our planet Earth (right) and is the most promising habitable zone exoplanet yet found in the search for liquid water beyond the Solar System. (Illustration: Benoit Gougeon, Université de Montréal)
This suggests that 10% to 20% of its mass may be water.
It’s a tantalizing possibility, given our search for a habitable planet.
Researchers believe that the exoplanet either resembles a snowball or has a liquid ocean that faces its host star.
This would be a major milestone in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets.
