The exoplanet TOI-1452 b was discovered just 100 light-years from Earth.
A new paper on the discovery says that the entire planet is covered by a thick layer of water and that it’s located far enough from its star to possibly support life, citing a report by science research website BGR.com.
The ocean world was discovered by a team of researchers at the Université de Montréal, led by Charles Cadieux, who announced the discovery this week.
Cadieux completed his undergraduate studies in physics at Université de Montréal in May 2018 before joining the Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) in September 2018 for a master’s degree under the supervision of Prof. René Doyon.
With the help of instruments designed partly in Canada, a team of Université de Montréal astronomers have discovered an exoplanet that could be completely covered in water, a target they hope to observe with the Webb telescope soon, says the Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx).
According to researchers, the exoplanet, known as TOI-1452 b, is slightly greater in size and mass than Earth and is located at distance from its star where its temperature would be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist on its surface.
The astronomers believe it could be an “ocean planet,” a planet completely covered by a thick layer of water, similar to some of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons, according to researchers.
In an article published on 12 August in The Astronomical Journal, Cadieux and his team describe the observations that elucidated the nature and characteristics of this unique exoplanet, citing the Institute’s website.
“I’m extremely proud of this discovery because it shows the high calibre of our researchers and instrumentation,” said René Doyon, Université de Montréal Professor and Director of iREx and of the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (OMM).
“It is thanks to the OMM, a special instrument designed in our labs called SPIRou and an innovative analytic method developed by our research team that we were able to detect this one-of-a-kind exoplanet.”
IOL