In 1992, exoplanets were found in orbit around other stars and thanks to instruments such as the Kepler Space Telescope and the Gaia mission, there were found planets that could potentially accommodate life as we know it on Earth. An interesting new evaluation of these exoplanets indicates that many of these exoplanets can contain more than 50% water. The leader of the research, Dr. Li Zeng from the University of Harvard said: "It was a big surprise to realize that there are many planets with water."
Scientists have discovered that many of the 4,000 candidates to be planets where there may be life fall into two categories: those who have a ray which is 1.5 times the size of the earth or those who have an average of 2.5 times the radius of the earth. Thanks to measurements from the Gaia satellite and the Kepler Space Telescope, a model of the internal structure has now been developed. "We have seen how the mass relates to the radius and we have developed a model that could explain this relationship," Zeng said. The model shows that these exoplanets with a radius of 1.5 are those of the earth, mostly rocky planets and those with a radius of 2.5 times the radius of our earth, probably worlds with a lot of water, instead of rocks . "And Zeng adds:" The beauty of the model is that it explains how only the composition is related to known facts about these planets. "
The professor says:" Our data indicate that about 35% of all exoplanets larger that the earth must be rich in water These aquatic worlds formed in the same way as the nucleus of the gigantic planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, so that we can study them in our solar system. The new mission, TESS, will certainly find more exoplanets and spectroscopic analysis can help us in this case. The next generation of space telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, can help us to characterize the atmosphere of some of them. It is an exciting time for those interested in these distant worlds. "
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