'Super Earth' with gassy atmosphere that could host alien life discovered
A little-known planet beyond the solar system could be a scaled-up version of Earth, according to new research. Photo / Getty
- The exoplanet known as K2-18b has been described as being a potential 'Super-Earth' - a large rocky planet with the potential to support life.
- They also discovered a new planet in the same solar system.
- Both planets orbit K2-18, a red-dwarf star located about 111 light-years away in the constellation Leo.
A little-known planet about 111 light years away could be a "scaled-up version of Earth" and may be able to host alien life, according to a study.
The exoplanet known as K2-18b has been described as being a potential 'Super-Earth' - a large rocky planet with the potential to support life.
Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada made the discovery by scouring data collected by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
They also discovered a new planet in the same solar system. Both planets orbit K2-18, a red-dwarf star located about 111 light-years away in the constellation Leo.
"With the current data, we cannot distinguish between those two possibilities," Cloutier said.
"But with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we can probe the atmosphere and see whether it has an extensive atmosphere or it is a planet covered in water," he said.
"K2-18b is now one of the best targets for atmospheric study, it is going to the near top of the list," Rene Doyon, from Universite de Montreal Institute in Canada, added.
It was while looking through the data of K2-18b that Cloutier noticed something unusual.
In addition to a signal occurring every 39 days from the rotation of K2-18, and one taking place every 33 days from the orbit of K2-18b, he noticed a different signal occurring every nine days.
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