NASA says K2-18b Exoplanet may be covered by oceans and could have signs of life.
A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide.
K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light-years from Earth.
The abundance of methane and carbon dioxide, and shortage of ammonia, support the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in K2-18 b.
Above: An artist’s impression of what K2-18b might look like. (NASA, CSA, ESA, J. Olmstead/STScI, N. Madhusudhan/Cambridge University)
