Can humans live on another planet? This issue has been preoccupying scholars for some time. Now astronomers have discovered a distant planet that might fit the conditions. Observations by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have revealed water vapor and chemical signatures of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the exoplanet eloquently named TOI-270 d, which is twice the size of Earth and about 70 light-years away. This chemical mixture is consistent with a watery world where the ocean covers the entire surface and an atmosphere rich in hydrogen, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge.
You don't have to think about relaxing paddling yet. The water temperature is a little higher than that. “The ocean temperature can reach more than 100 degrees, and even much more,” says Professor Nico Madhusudan. At high atmospheric pressure, such a hot ocean could remain liquid, “but it is not clear whether it would be habitable,” he added.
According to other researchers who have studied the same exoplanet, it is too hot for liquid water. They talk about a possibility of 4000 degrees Celsius. As a result, the planet will have a rocky surface rather than a liquid one, with an incredibly dense atmosphere of hydrogen and water vapor.
Amazing vision
Whatever the prevailing view, these recent observations demonstrate James Webb's astonishing insight into the nature of planets outside our solar system. The telescope captures light filtered through the planets' atmosphere to provide detailed details of the chemical elements present. Based on this, astronomers can get an idea of the conditions on the planet's surface – and the chance of life surviving there.
Evidence for the existence of a TOI-270 d ocean is based on the absence of ammonia, which, according to basic chemistry, should exist naturally in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. But ammonia is highly soluble in water, so it would be depleted into the atmosphere if there was an ocean below.
Conditions will be very different than on Earth. TOI-270 d is Tide lockedWhich means that one side is permanently pointing towards its star while the other side is plunged into eternal darkness, creating an extreme temperature contrast. “The ocean will be very hot in daylight. The night side could accommodate habitable conditions,” Madhusudan said. “But there will be an overwhelming atmosphere, with pressure tens or hundreds of times greater than at the Earth’s surface, and steam will pour out of the ocean.”
