The exoplanet, some 120 light-years away, has caught the attention scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). K2-18 b, about 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has carbon-bearing molecules in its atmosphere, including methane and carbon dioxide. This could mean the exoplanet has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface (called a Hycean exoplanet).
Exoplanets of this size, between the size of Earth and Neptune, are called “sub-Neptune” exoplanets. These are the most most common type of exoplanet found to date in our galaxy.
Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper announcing these results, stated:
Our findings underscore the importance of considering diverse habitable environments in the search for life elsewhere…Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.
You can read more about this discovery at the NASA site.
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