Amanda Smith, University of Cambridge
–
Artist’s impression of the Hycean world.
–
Nationalgeographic.co.id – A new study from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in the UK has identified a so-called Hycean planet with vast oceans and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. There, maybe life alien or foreigners can develop well.
“Planet Hycean opened new avenues in our search for life elsewhere,” said lead author Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge in the release.
It can open up new insights into the search for life alien. Because as it is understood that all this time the search alien mostly focused on Earth-like planets, a reasonable place to start. Remember, Earth is a rocky and water-covered place that we know has life on it.
Also Read: Can Microbes Communicate with Alien Species Like Aliens?
However, the universe is full of a great diversity of planets. Some of them may be habitable even though they are not clearly Earth-like. Planet Hycean is the place where that is possible.
Planets like Hycean appear to be numerous in the Milky Way galaxy, which is 2.5 times larger than Earth. Possessing a large ocean of liquid water under a hydrogen-filled atmosphere, the Hyceans are similar to Earth in super-size and the gassy “mini Neptune,” two of the most common extrasolar planets in the galaxy. However, Hyceans are different, with densities between super-Earths and mini-Neputunes according to the new study published in The Astrophysical Journal on August 25, 2021.
bertos/Getty Images/iStockphoto
–
Alien illustration.
–
Researchers also show that Hycean planets can be significantly larger than previously considered for habitable planets.
“With a radius of 2.6 Earth radii with a mass 10 times Earth’s mass. We constructed the Hycean habitable zone (HZ), taking stellar hosts from late M to sun-like stars, and found it to be significantly wider than HZ like terrestrial,” the researchers wrote in the report.
According to researchers, planets like the Hyceans are also very diverse. Some orbit so close to their stars that they are tidally locked, with one side of hot day and one side of forever dark night.
Also Read: Recent Research, There is Abundant Water in the Crust of Planet Ceres
PROMOTED CONTENT
Featured Videos
– .
