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K2–18b: Ingredients For Life — Josh Universe
K2–18b: A Mini-Neptune in the habitable zone with water vapor and exciting recent findings challenging our view of alien worlds.
Podcast Episode: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joshhabka/episodes/Episode-7-Life-on-K2-18b-e2a1j59/a-aae3utu
Original Article: https://joshuniverse.com/k2-18b-the-mini-neptune/
I. Introduction
An intriguing and distant world lies in the endless tapestry of the cosmos: K2–18b. Located a staggering 124 light-years away from our blue planet Earth, this enigmatic exoplanet orbits a red dwarf star named K2–18. Its discovery, initiated by the watchful eye of the Kepler space telescope, opened a portal to a realm of possibilities.
K2–18b isn’t just another celestial body; it’s a Mini-Neptune, eight times the mass of Earth. However, what truly stirs the imagination is its orbit within the star’s habitable zone, where starlight might nurture the existence of liquid water, a vital ingredient for life as we know it.
In 2019, detecting water vapor in its atmosphere tantalized scientists and skywatchers. In 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope unveiled more secrets, hinting at a world submerged in an ocean beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
