In yet another amazing discovery, an international team of astronomers just unearthed a new and astonishing “ocean planet”. According to them, this potential planet has been found in a binary system and is orbiting a star. The discovery has amazed space enthusiasts, and to our interest, we know that we could easily get the tiniest of details regarding this planet because we have access to some of the most sophisticated space technologies, not to mention, James Webb Telescope. In addition, it has been found that this ocean planet is about 100 light years away from Earth, but this is definitely no small feat in space science.
It goes without saying that the discovery of this potential planet has opened doors in the search for alien life, and if everything goes as planned by the team, the results would be interesting. The exoplanet has been named “TOI-1452b” and is reportedly bigger in size and mass in comparison to the Earth. Coupled with this, the planet is a little bit wetter than Earth as it contains a 30% ratio of water by mass. In comparison to this, the Earth contains just less than one percent. If we talk about the similarities of TOI-1452b to that of Earth, then both of these planets are rocky to the same extent.
In addition to this, the potential planet is anticipated to be a “habitable zone,” meaning thereby we can expect the presence of liquid water on its surface. As per Charles Cadieux, who is a lead author and Ph.D. student at the Université de Montréal, “TOI-1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date. Its radius and mass suggest a much lower density than what one would expect for a planet that is basically made up of metal and rock, like Earth. “
The question arises of how the team found it in the first place. You would be amazed to know that the data compiled by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope contained traces of this planet. To further confirm these traces, the team used an observatory known as the Observatoire du Mont Mégantic (OMM).
However, for now, the team is aspiring to utilize the magnanimous capabilities of the James Webb Telescope as René Doyon, who is a professor at Université de Montréal and co-author, stated, “The James Webb Telescope could prove to be essential to better understanding TOI-1452 b.” He further elaborated, “As soon as we can, we will book time on Webb to observe this strange and wonderful world.”